Graceland Vandalized With Black Lives Matter Slogans, But Who’s To Blame?

Graceland, the Memphis estate that was once the home of Elvis Presley and is a popular tourist landmark, was vandalized by graffiti this week.

According to Commercial Appeal, the estate, where Elvis lived for 20 years until his death in 1977, was the victim of graffiti related to the Black Lives Matter movement. Slogans including “DEFUND MPD,” “BLM,” “#DEFUND THE POLICE” and “ABOLISH ICE” were painted on both the sidewalk along Elvis Presley Boulevard and sprayed onto the stone wall around the property.

“Graceland has no comment,” spokesperson David Beckwith told the publication in an email.

Though the vandalism is being investigated, there has been significant debate about just who was responsible for what happened, similarly to how riots and looting have been attributed to different parties during the ongoing protests for BLM around the country since George Floyd’s death in May.

Many, including Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, quickly took to social media to blast the Black Lives Matter movement, blaming them for the defacing of property and referring to them as anarchists.

Meanwhile, others stated that there was no way the group was responsible for the graffiti for a variety of reasons, including that a QAnon tag was also left, indicating that the group may have responsibility.

The property was one of several that were tagged throughout the night, including the Levitt Shell, and “I Heart Memphis” mural.

At Graceland, the graffiti also covered up handwritten messages from the singer’s fans, who have often written on the wall during visits there, and workers with power-washing equipment are already working to remove the tags.