(Corrects day to Thursday from Wednesday in paragraph 3)
By Octavio Jones
PALMETTO, Florida, May 14 (Reuters) - Police in Florida are investigating vandalism at a historic, predominantly African American cemetery where 17 gravesites were damaged, with headstones knocked down and "Trump" and "DeSantis" spray-painted in red letters on tombs, referring to the U.S. politicians, Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
Detectives believe the incident in Palmetto, a town around 31 miles (50 km) south of Tampa on Florida's west coast, occurred within the past few weeks. No arrests have been made and the investigation continues, the Manatee County Sheriff's Office said in a statement on Tuesday.
Glenn Searls, 77, said on Thursday he felt "extreme anger" at the vandalism at the Old Memphis Cemetery, where members of his family, and others he knows, are buried.
"When you look and you see 'DeSantis' and 'Trump' spray-painted on a vault, it makes you wonder if it's politically motivated, and I tend to believe it is," Searls said of damage to the cemetery established in 1904 for Black residents of Palmetto's Memphis neighborhood.
U.S. President Donald Trump has a history of sharing racist rhetoric and his administration has dismantled diversity, equity and inclusion policies. The vandalism occurred in a polarized political climate ahead of the November midterm elections. Race has emerged as an issue as Republican-led southern states embark on a redistricting spree likely to strip Black Democrats of their seats.
“Anyone who engages in this disgusting behavior must be condemned in the harshest terms possible," White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement on the vandalism.
The office of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Edrena Love Freeman said on Wednesday she checked on her father's gravestone and found it had been moved.
"I just thought it was evil, it's just not right," said Love Freeman, standing by the grave of her father, a World War Two veteran who died in 1970.
(Reporting by Octavio Jones in Palmetto, Florida, additional reporting by Andrew Hay; Editing by Donna Bryson, Rod Nickel and Sanjeev Miglani)
