TOLEDO, Ohio — The brick exterior of a north Toledo building containing a George Floyd mural came toppling down on Tuesday after it was hit by lightning, and the son of former President Donald Trump is wondering if it may have been an act of God.
Donald Trump Jr. made several social media posts about the incident, asking if a "higher power" could be responsible.
"This will drive some people nuts but oh well," Trump Jr. wrote on Instagram. "I mean you have to wonder if someone, like a higher power, is telling us something here?!? Obviously what happened to George Floyd should never happen anywhere!!! That said, objectively speaking, given his history I’m not sure turning him into a deity and a role model for our children is exactly the right idea either. Also please don’t tell me they’re not trying to turn him into a role model/hero there’s statues of him going up all over the country etc. etc. The same lunatics who want to erase our founding fathers want statues of this man all over the place. Again, we can learn from a disastrous situation but the pendulum seems to always correct way too far these days. Discuss!!!"
On Twitter, Trump Jr. said, "It’s almost like a higher power is telling us something. When was the last time you heard of a brick building being destroyed by lightning? I am a builder and I’m not sure I’ve ever heard of it."
The piece was created by Toledo artist David Ross just about one year ago at the intersection of Summit and Lagrange streets. He said the artwork stands as a memorial and reminder to never forget what happened that day in May of 2020 when Floyd was murdered by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
A witness who saw the wall fall told Toledo Fire & Rescue they saw a lightning bolt strike the building. The department later confirmed the strike to be the cause of the collapse.
No cleanup effort was under way on Wednesday. One of the things the city is looking at is whether this building needs to be demolished entirely following the lightning strike. A spokesperson for the city said building officials have determined that an emergency demolition of the building is not necessary at this time.
The spokesperson said the building was stable and secure prior to the lightning strike, however, the facade was not.