ATLANTA — A historic Atlanta tavern was vandalized in the early morning hours on Wednesday, according to police.
Atlanta Police said that the windows of Manuel's Tavern were spray painted with comments that were "derogatory in nature." 11Alive drove by the restaurant on Thursday and noticed spray paint on the bricks of the building, but the rest of the alleged vandalism appeared to have been cleaned off.
Officers responded to the popular pub located at 602 North Highland Avenue just after 4:45 a.m. Wednesday after an employee arriving for their 4 a.m. shift noticed the locks of the restaurant had been super glued to both the front and rear doors of the restaurant in order to make it harder to get in, police said.
APD also said that a billboard in front of Manuel's Tavern was vandalized with spray paint.
Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum spoke about the incident Thursday morning during a press conference spotlighting major crimes being down across the city in 2023.
"What's concerning to me is a couple things," Schierbaum said. "Manuel's Tavern -- those of us, whether we showed up here five years ago, 20 years ago, or our whole lifetime, that's an important location for politics in this city. And for someone to use spray paint to intimidate elected officials and those who were gathering there that night to talk about the future and how that particular political party can bring out the best policies is concerning."
Schierbaum also alluded to other intimidation acts that have previously happened in the city.
"It was spray paint two nights ago, but we've seen fire be used over 20 times. Arson has been used to intimidate elected officials, private sector individuals that are wanting to make sure that our fire department and police department is properly trained, fully staffed and ready to be there when you need them," Schierbaum said.
Schierbaum vowed to find whoever is responsible and take them into custody.
"No one should think that they can just hide in the darkness and try to intimidate those that have been elected to serve this city."
You can listen to the full presser below: