Plymouth Rock vandalized with red graffiti ahead of 400th anniversary of Mayflower landing

Residents of historic Plymouth, Mass., awoke on Presidents’ Day to find their town — and its landmark Plymouth Rock — covered in bright red graffiti just months before the community is set to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s arrival.

Also tagged by spray paint were the Pilgrim Maiden Statue in Brewster Gardens, a bench monument from National Society Daughters of the American Colonists and art installations, including three-foot tall fiberglass sea scallops decorated by local artists.

“The defacement of these symbols of Plymouth’s history, or any public property for that matter, is unfathomable and unconscionable,” Town Manager Melissa Arrighi said in a statement posted to Facebook.

Plymouth Public Works crews worked throughout the day to clean up the vandalism, officials said, and the Plymouth police vowed to find and prosecute whoever was responsible for the damage.