Grant Park Cross-Burning Case: Man Charged with Hate Crime in Chicago Protests

A 21-year-old man, Merlin Lu, admitted lighting a cross on fire in Grant Park during a protest against the Trump administration and is in custody on four felony counts (including two hate-crime charges plus arson and damage to city property) and four misdemeanors (breach of peace, reckless conduct, damage to property, cross burning to intimidate). Prosecutors describe it as a hate crime; a detention hearing is set as Lu maintains the act was a protest, not a hate crime, and says he has no KKK affiliation.