CNN
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The FBI’s Atlanta field office is offering a $10,000 reward for information about vandalism at Georgia’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church Heritage Preserve this summer, said a news release Thursday. rice field.
The sanctuary of the church was vandalized at midnight on July 3, and a group sprayed the side of the church with the following message:
The vandalism came just days after the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The ruling guaranteed the federal constitutional right to abortion.
Surveillance video shows a group of 10 people dressed in all black walking away from the church. According to the FBI, the group walked to their hiding place before reappearing on surveillance footage without any black clothing.
“The group then split, with four going in one direction and six in another,” the FBI said in a rewards poster for the incident. “FBI Atlanta and the Atlanta Police Department will ask anyone who recognizes any of these 10 people to call 1-800-CALL-FBI or send tips to Tips.FBI.gov. ”
Ebenezer Baptist Church, its sanctuary, and the home of Martin Luther King Jr. are all part of the National Historical Park in Atlanta.
The church, separate from the sanctuary, was founded in 1886 and is Georgia’s “spiritual home,” according to the National Park Service. It was Martin Luther King’s home church from 1960 until his death in 1968. Currently, Democratic Senator Raphael Warnock is the senior pastor, according to the church’s website.
CNN reached out to a Warnock spokesperson.