SEVNICA, SLOVENIA (NEXSTAR) – A wooden sculpture of first lady Melania Trump has been removed after it was set ablaze near her Slovenian hometown, the artist who commissioned it told CNN.
The statue, which was located near Sevnica, Slovenia, was torched on the night of the Fourth of July.
“I want to know why they did it,” said artist Brad Downey, who posted the removal of the statue on his Instagram page.
Downey said he asked locals not to distribute photos of the damaged sculpture to prevent it from becoming a “violent meme,” CNN reported.
The statue, created in July 2019, depicts the first lady wearing a blue dress similar to the one designed by Ralph Lauren that she wore for President Donald Trump’s 2017 inauguration.
Downey previously told CNN the inspiration for the sculpture came from what he called the “anti-immigration narrative” in the U.S. Melania Trump is an immigrant herself, and Downey called it a “contradiction” that her husband, Donald Trump, has made anti-immigration policies a focus of his presidency.
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