Eternal flame at Martin Luther King Jr.'s Atlanta burial site vandalized

[Mr. Jinx]

Last edited Sun Oct 12, 2025, 12:49 PM - Edit history (2)

Source: Yahoo News

A man is facing charges after damaging the eternal flame at Martin Luther King Jr.'s burial site.

Police say Brent Jones, 26, urinated in the reflecting pool and stomped on and broke the eternal flame at the site.

A family visiting the area told Channel 2 Action News that they wanted to visit the burial site, but showed up Saturday morning to find it destroyed.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/eternal-flame-martin-luther-king-172142373.html

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Edited at 12:47 p.m. EDT on October 12, 2025, to change the headline from "Eternal flame at Martin Luther King Jr.'s Atlanta burial site destroyed" to "Eternal flame at Martin Luther King Jr.'s Atlanta burial site vandalized," per Yahoo News.

[2naSalit]

1. Ignorant...

And ugly.

[slightlv]

25. No, I don't agree with "ignorant"

He knew exactly what he was doing and why he was doing it. Racist, hateful, hypocritical... since he no doubt would call himself a "christian." But not ignorant. Evil, led by Evil.

[benfranklin1776]

27. Monstrously evil.

[Queso Delicioso]

45. What even is "Christian" anymore?

So many people who supposedly adhere to that religion are 180 degrees off what would generally be expected of Christians. And it's basically to the point that the religion has been hijacked; if someone says that they're a Christian I don't expect anything good out of them. I just expect a bunch of bigotry and hate. And if the titular figure of that religion has a problem with that, he sure as fuck hasn't done anything about it.

[slightlv]

49. I hear you... and i hear the frustration.

Look, I feel it, too... and I'm not even Christian. What these people have done to Faith hits many of us and casts us into our own dark nights of soul. After all that has been allowed to happen in this world, and what is happening right now, im to the point I don't believe in any creator God anymore. Or maybe S/He just gave up on all of us and are waiting for us to wipe the planet clean of us.

I take comfort in ritual... but it feels so hollow now. I had a friend who once described himself as an agnostic pagan. I couldn't make sense of it then, but im coming around to seeing what he meant.

I feel like the ground has been ripped from under our feet and the sky set on fire. What is good, moral, caring and kind is denigrated and much of it illegal in some states. Saying and knowing that feels as unnatural as saying water isn't wet. If I were 40 years younger I might be able to take a different view, but this close to the Veil, well... its unsettling to say the least.

[RVN VET71]

61. I don't think this little peckerwood said he was christian

He's a young, racist, stupid as the day's long fucking punk. I hope he's charged with a felony, found guilty, and sent to a prison where the African American inmates may be wanting to speak Jesus to him.

[Brainstormy]

69. I ask that all the time.

I cant even understand how Christians themselves would define it today

[soldierant]

70. "Christian" has a definition.

It means a person who does their best to comply with the instructions of Jesus as recorded on the gospels and at least to some degree as recorded in the book of the Acts of the Apostles (which is where I find passages which appear to address and command the acceptance of anyone who is "different," including but not limited to gay and trans people).

Yes, the people who are loudest today claiming to be "Christian" are mostly the diametric opposite of that. But you can call yourself anything, and that doesn't make it so. I could call myself Queen of the universe, and nothing would change. I don't because I know I'm not.

Jesus predicted that there would be people who would claim to be especially close to him, even to work miracles in his name, to whom he would have to say "I never knew you." And such people have always been around. At this point in time, there are so many of them, and they are so visible, that it's discouraging, to say the least.

[whathehell]

46. "and since he 'no doubt would call himself a Christian"?

Huh?...No, sorry, there Is plenty of 'doubt' as to what this person's beliefs (if any) are...Do not go down the road of denigrating a multi-million member religion in this country because of the actions of some of a minority conservative sect.

[slightlv]

48. I know where you're coming from

And normally separate out the... not insignificant sects... which is why I refuse to capitalize the "C" for them.

But they are significant and many, and these kind have infiltrated our govt, and our society in ways seen and unseen at the moment. If you aren't familiar with the NAR, 7 Mountains, or Dominionism look them up. They've been working behind the scenes for decades to turn us into a theocracy of their sect. And they've made strange bedfellows with evangelicals, charismatics, hard core catholic sects like opus dey, and right wing hard core autocratic republicans. My family was part of the church that started all this until we left when the church schismed into two different seats. All my life I've seen it akin to evil wanting power... and when even Sunday school questions were squashed I gave up on it long before I hit puberty. It's not about faith, love, service or the red letter words to them. It's about power... patriarchy... and control. It's about bringing about the destruction of the world to "force" the 2nd coming... like they could force God to do anything?! To me it's a twisted convoluted faith that they actually have no trust in.. else they wouldn't be so afraid God wouldn't do what they want him to do.

For the record, I believe She is mightily pissed off.

Sorry for typos, etc. I'm on my phone and detest these tiny kbs!!! Also for giving the impression I was throwing the baby out with the bath water.

[electric_blue68]

63. Definitely not a small number unfortunately! I offer a bit of an antidote....

(oh, and I learned abot The Dominionists from either Mike Malloy, or Thom Hartman back in the Air America Radio days)

Anyway look up on You Tube St John the Divine's Blessing of the Animals Mass 2025.
ST J T D is NYC's largest Episcopalian. Liberal, multi-cultural, including women pastors, rabbis, imans have spoken from their pulpit, Native Amrican altar in a side section, and held Indigeous Peoples ceremony on "Columbus" Day, AIDS memorial from way back, The Dali Lama has been there...
Let their empathy, and beauty bring you some joyful spirituality. I'm a spiritual person after giving up my Catholism, and found beautiful comfort going to that space since I found out about them in the '80's.

[jaymac]

53. some?

some of a minority conservative sect? It sure is way more than a minority sect.......that conservative and scornful bent has permeated throughout the "christian"sect for years. It just feels comfortable enough to show it's face in public nowadays

[electric_blue68]

60. Bc drumphf gave them "permission" to show their faces

[slightlv]

71. Read thru the rest of the messages here...

And, while not Christian (or christian) myself, I would say not to lump all Christians in with this Maga xtians.

MAGA has created its own religion. It is not Christ's... and the Christ I studied for many decades would be appalled at what is being done in His name, IMO. I kinda agree with Gandhi (I think he said, paraphrasing)... I have nothing against your Christ, but your christians scare me.

The only way I've been able to make peace with it is by separating them into 2 different religions... because they are 2 separate religions. Even the scripture called for in churches at sermons are different; one drawn from the New Testament; the Magas from the punitive YAHWEH Old Testament. Magas want nothing to do with the New Testament, nor Christ. They've even mocked His words in their "revivals" (like Turning Point). And they really can't be for the true Old Testament, because their some of the most anti-semitic people out there. No... they've created a bastardization of the Christian faith and just kept the name. THAT should be what you're really P'O'd with. People who were nominal church goers or calling themselves Christians... and those who might have looked into the faith... turn away from it now as though it's poison. And it's MAGA who is poisoning it.

[Irish_Dem]

2. A country destroying itself with hatred and violence.

[AKwannabe]

21. Not all of us!

Don’t be so damn general.

Call out the fucking people doing this.
Not “a country”! FFS!

[Irish_Dem]

50. I stand by my comment.

NO ONE IS STOPPING THE DAMN EVIL.

[CTyankee]

3. Sad, but with Trump president and our "role model," I am not surprised that this happened.

[FakeNoose]

12. He gives them all "permission" to act out their worst impulses

Have we really fallen this far?



Why yes ... yes we have.

[ananda]

19. Parallel thinking.

All day it's been on my mind how so many
people are doing such horrendous, criminal
harm to others, at will, without impunity
or remorse.

I think this means that the only thing ever
stopping them was the law and having those
acts condemned

Now that all this has been validated, and there's
nothing to stop them, well...

we get what we get today. It doesn't say much
about human life and society in gerneral, does it?

[markodochartaigh]

30. "...stopping

them was the law and having those
acts condemned...".
I think that you are correct. Remember after the failed coup attempt, Trump's support among Republicans dropped from about 80% to about 40%. For a few weeks. Then when the Republicans saw that Trump wasn't going to face personal prosecution his approval among Republicans started to rise until it was back up in the 80's. The majority of Republicans don't even care if Trump overturns democracy in the US as long as he doesn't face any consequences. How are those Republicans going to care about anything else?

[alfredo]

28. Attitude

Flows downhill. We take our cues from those above.

[DBoon]

33. the fish rots from the head

[riversedge]

40. and unfortunately, Trump was elected as the ''head'!!

[unblock]

4. Expect Donnie's doj to prosecute

anyone who complains about this, calls it racist, or pretty much says anything about it other than praise it.

[Irish_Dem]

8. Trump will probably hire the perpetrator.

[unblock]

11. True dat

[Teacher of the Year]

14. To pave over it for a terrace with yellow umbrellas.

[wcmagumba]

5. Maga and Trumpism at its finest...

All are fascist pigs...

[chowder66]

6. The King Center response is pure class.

[Maine-i-ac]

7. Can't wait to see how this guy's GoFundMe is gonna do. /s/nt

[johnp3907]

9. Hate crime.

[BurnDoubt]

17. Yep! Yep! Yep!

And YEP!!!!!

[Deuxcents]

10. Can't find a picture of the pos..was just curious

[FakeNoose]

13. No photos posted on the Yahoo or local Atlanta TV websites

Unfortunately it's a rather common name so a lot of unrelated photos come up in the Google search window.

[RandomNumbers]

65. Try this one. Kinda surprising what he looks like.

Given the brevity and laser focus of the text, the photo HAS to be the guy who was arrested. (also his pose and expression)

https://www.wsbradio.com/news/crime-and-law/man-arrested-vandalizing-eternal-flame-king-center/AGBZGQD5GNGZPCC5N5CXS3TXAQ/?outputType=amp

[ificandream]

15. Here's the arrest report on the Atlanta Police Department website. No photo here either.

Vandalism Arrest: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Center: 449 Auburn Ave NE
252840379
Post Date:10/11/2025 1:30 PM
Preliminary information: On October 11th, 2025, at approximately 4:30 A.M., officers responded to a report of vandalism at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Center located at 449 Auburn Ave NE. Upon arrival, officers spoke with security who observed a male suspect urinating in the reflective pool and stomping on the Eternal Flame, causing significant damage. The suspect was identified as 26-year-old Mr. Brent Jones. Mr. Jones was taken into custody and is being charged with Criminal Damage to Property in the 2nd Degree, Criminal Trespass, Public Indecency, and Obstruction of Law Enforcement. Mr. Jones will be transported to the Fulton County Jail.

All arrests and photos are public information. An arrest does not mean that the individual has been or will be convicted of the crime. Individuals on this press release/post/video are presumed innocent until proven guilty by a court of law.

Please keep in mind that the information released is preliminary in nature and could change as the investigation progresses or new information comes to light.

Link: https://www.atlantapd.org/Home/Components/News/News/7605/71

[RandomNumbers]

64. Try here.

https://www.wsbradio.com/news/crime-and-law/man-arrested-vandalizing-eternal-flame-king-center/AGBZGQD5GNGZPCC5N5CXS3TXAQ/?outputType=amp

[BurnDoubt]

16. There should be a "Hate Crime" enhancement as an adjunct.

And, he should certainly be pissed upon. Daily would be fine.

[Efilroft Sul]

18. The orcs are all coming out of their caves now to answer Fat Sauron's beckon call.

[AKwannabe]

22. This!

[dgauss]

26. Fat Sauron and orcs with red baseball caps. Yep.

[Warpy]

20. Please tell me there are CCTV cameras and that they were working

It was probably punk kids who think they wannabe Klanners when they grow up.

I'd like to see them grow up in jail.

[Grokenstein]

23. Not "destroyed."

That quote from the article is accurate but the headline says "vandalized" and there's also this:

A representative from The King Center issued the following statement: “The King Center is aware of a minor incident that occurred near the Eternal Flame. While there was minimal damage to the Eternal Flame and the surrounding area, The King Center remains fully open to visitors. The Eternal Flame still burns with love, and we continue to welcome everyone with open arms and gratitude for the incredible support of our beloved community. The dream lives on.”

[mountain grammy]

24. I've been there.

A beautiful and inspiring place.

What makes people so hateful?

[markodochartaigh]

29. We need a gofundme to repair this memorial now,

Last edited Sat Oct 11, 2025, 09:57 PM - Edit history (1)

and maybe hire a 24/7 guard.


Edit: I don't see a gofundme but the King Center does have a donation page:

https://thekingcenter.org/donate-now/

[SoFlaBro]

31. Lemme guess: another MAGA lowlife, cowardly turd. Piss on those fucking MAGA turds.

[Gimpyknee]

32. Sounds like a perfect ICE agent candidate.

[travelingthrulife]

58. Yeah. Just practicing his patriotism.

[Buddyzbuddy]

34. Republucans don't want to bear the guilt of their past atrocities

so they try to erase history and yet they continue to perpetrate crimes against minorities.

FIX YOUR PRESENT BEHAVIOR BEFORE TRYING TO ERASE THE PAST!

Republicans, you own this a-hole and everyone of these racist a-holes, including the whole Adminstration. Leave the party if you don't want to be included.

Republican=Racist

[Joinfortmill]

35. I hope he gets nailed good for this.

[LudwigPastorius]

36. It's just too bad that Fani Willis won't get to prosecute this son of a bitch.

[Dem4life1970]

37. Gee, surveying the last 10 years, I wonder why such an individual would think this is okay...

...it is truly a mystery.

[summer_in_TX]

38. Not only was the attack on a shrine to a very great, inspirational hero and liberator,

it was an attack on democracy.

King modeled the values of Christ, yes, but also of democracy. Peaceful advocacy for change in order to bring about that More Perfect Union. The Beloved Community.

[MIButterfly]

39. What an asshole.

[live love laugh]

41. Given the state of things, I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner. Sadly.

[Ziggysmom]

42. 26 y/o punk wasn't even around when MLK fought for equal rights. Equal rights for ALL of us.

It’s like we’re headed toward another Civil War! This one will be red vs blue. Almighty creator have mercy on us.

[Irish_Dem]

52. We are already in a US Civil War.

When Texas sent armed troops to Illinois it was the start of the war.

[Jack Valentino]

43. "Destroying" or "damaging" ?? the headline differs from the text--- kinda "click-baity"---

And YES, either one is a sad commentary on the
'state of our nation'....... but not much of a surprise, at this point in time

[bluestarone]

44. Is it me, or is it the 20 to 30 year olds that are mostly our

Problem child TERRORISTS? Just seems like that age group are the dangerous ones.

[Irish_Dem]

51. Yes males do not have full frontal lobe development until late 20's.

In males, the frontal lobe, particularly the prefrontal cortex, tends to reach full maturity later than in females, with development continuing into the mid- to late-20s.

The frontal lobe is responsible for the progression of executive functions like decision-making, emotional regulation, and impulse control.

So if you pair this with huge amounts of testosterone during puberty and all the societal messages about males, power, violence, it is a recipe for disaster.

There are so many examples for this, we just take it for granted that young males
are potentially dangerous. We give them a pass, boys will be boys excuses.

One small example. I read an interesting study about US Air Force pilot training, and gender differences. The males tend to wreck and damage more airplanes than women. Women are more careful and responsible, men are more reckless and risk taking.

[OldBaldy1701E]

54. Well I have always said that, were it not for young adult men...

Those 'Fail Army' videos would come out twice a year and would be about ninety seconds long.

[3catwoman3]

56. It seems the frontal lobe in some males...

…never fully develops.

[Irish_Dem]

57. Yes we can see some men who never mature.

They are stuck in the toddler or adolescent stage.

[H2O Man]

47. Terrible.

(Recommended)

This is ugly.

[twodogsbarking]

55. Fix it and don't give the asshole any press, just jail. Peace.

[electric_blue68]

59. Woah, missd this! FUgly racist bastard!

[RandomNumbers]

66. This appears to be the arrest photo. Somewhat surprising.

https://www.wsbradio.com/news/crime-and-law/man-arrested-vandalizing-eternal-flame-king-center/AGBZGQD5GNGZPCC5N5CXS3TXAQ/?outputType=amp

Doesn't mean he can't be racist, but does seem odd.

I think he was more likely being a drunken or drugged up idiot.

[electric_blue68]

67. Oh, surprising.

[hamsterjill]

62. Sick idiot.

I hope someone holds his ass down and pisses in his face. Totally uncalled for.

[Montauk6]

68. Mainstream Media: "But the Democrats..."