Jefferson Davis monument near Gold Canyon vandalized again

A state lawmaker and two other volunteers spent Monday morning cleaning red paint off the Jefferson Davis Highway moment after it was vandalized for the second time in a week.

Valley residents noticed that the monument was defaced with paint and notified the Department of Public Safety. Words written on the stone alluded to the KKK and had profanity across the base.

The monument, erected by the Daughters of the Confederacy in 1943 to mark the portion of U.S. 60 southeast of Apache Junction named in honor of Davis, is located in the far East Valley off U.S. 60 near Gold Canyon. 

Rep. Kelly Townsend, R-Mesa, helped clean the monument along with two other area residents. Townsend said she was sent a picture of the monument Monday morning.

"(There was) an expletive 'F' America with 'KKK' in it," Townsend said. "And then someone else told me there was an Antifa symbol on it."  

Antifa is shorthand for anti-fascists, and covers far-left-leaning militant groups that resist neo-Nazis and white supremacists.

The monument was also vandalized Thursday with tar and feathers. Townsend was also involved with that cleanup.   

"I asked friends to come and they brought solvents and scrubbers and various things to remove the tar and feathers," Townsend said. "Today, again, we brought paint remover and things like that." 

Robert White of Apache Junction also helped with both cleanups. He said the cleaning of the first incident took two days. 

"We used chemicals and other stuff that wouldn't harm the monument," White said. "It's the second time it's been vandalized and I'm kind of getting tired of it, but if it keeps happening, we're going to just keep coming out and cleaning it." 

Arizona Department of Public Safety said they are investigating both incidents. 

Arizona civil-rights leaders have called for Gov. Doug Ducey and state leaders to remove the six Civil War memorials located in Arizona, including this one.

Ducey has said it was "not (his) desire or mission to tear down any monument or memorial" in Arizona, moments after denouncing white-supremacist groups that rallied to protect a Confederate monument in Virginia.

Arizona — or at least the bottom half of what is now Arizona — was a Confederate territory. The oldest Confederate memorials date back to 1943, nearly eight decades after the Civil War ended. The newest was created in 2010.

Townsend said vandalism is not the answer to protests or problems. 

"Send a message to children that this is not the way to take care of problems by being vandals," Townsend said.