Cross outside North Carolina historic black church defaced with KKK threat

A cross outside a historic black church in North Carolina was defaced over the weekend with a Ku Klux Klan-related threat, according to the News & Observer.

The local news outlet reports that Fayetteville resident Andrew Caldwell, 33, has been charged with ethnic intimidation in connection with “KKK You Next” being written on a cross statue outside the Evans Metropolitan AME Zion Church, the oldest church in the town.

{mosads}A pastor at the church said he plans to keep the hateful message on the cross to show that the “sentiment of racial tension is still alive in this city and also in this country.”

He added that the defaced monument was dedicated to the founders of the church, which has been in its current location since 1893.

The News & Observer reports the church is on the National Register of Historic Places

The incident took place Sunday but was not discovered until Monday. Caldwell was arrested hours after it was reported, according to Fayetteville Police Department spokesman Sgt. Jeremy Glass.

Caldwell is scheduled to appear in court next month.