Gun-Control Activist Arrested for Vandalizing 9/11 Memorial

A 31-year-old activist focused on gun control was taken into custody on Tuesday after allegedly vandalizing the 9/11 Memorial located in New York City.

Johnathan Andrew Tijerina is accused of spray-painting his anti-gun website’s address over the engraved names of some of the 2,977 victims from the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

It’s incredibly troubling to see a sacred site treated this way; it’s a deep disrespect to the victims and their families.

A source familiar with the situation informed Blaze News that around 5 p.m. on Monday, the Port Authority Police Department was alerted by the 9/11 Memorial Museum about an individual detained for vandalizing memorial panels on the north side of the memorial’s reflecting pool.

Tijerina was arrested by officers from the Port Authority and later taken to Manhattan Central Booking. He faces charges of criminal mischief and graffiti.

According to the authorities, the vandalism resulted in more than $2,550 in damages, and the act was recorded on surveillance cameras, as reported by the New York Daily News.

A 16-year-old tourist from the United Kingdom witnessed the incident and later recounted to CBS News, “I saw someone with red spray paint who wrote ‘just stop killing kids’ over some of the names.”

Just a minute later, the police arrived and apprehended him, the teenager added.

Interestingly, Tijerina seems to have recorded himself confessing to the act.

In a video shared on the Instagram account for his anti-gun organization, a man identified as John Tijerina stood in front of the memorial declaring, “My name is John Tijerina, and I’ve just spray-painted ‘Just stop killing kids’ on the 9/11 Memorial.”

His group, Just Stop Killing Kids, described Tijerina as an “experienced civil-resistance organizer,” claiming that his actions are part of a nonviolent tradition seeking to compel governmental action.

A spokesperson for the 9/11 Memorial & Museum expressed that the site is a hallowed place of reflection that honors the victims of the September 11 attacks. They noted that the vandalism incident was quickly handled by security and law enforcement, restoring the memorial immediately.

The act has sparked outrage, especially among those who lost friends and family members in the attacks.

“I wear on my wrist the names of more than a hundred friends and colleagues who perished in the attacks 25 years ago. Their memory deserves the utmost respect,” remarked Ret. Col. Thomas Sullivan, a Republican candidate for the New York State Assembly.

“As a survivor who continued to serve in the Global War on Terror, I deeply understand the significance of this memorial. It is sacred ground, a place for remembrance. It should be treated with the dignity those we lost deserve.”

He further emphasized, “To deface this sacred site is utterly disrespectful to the victims, their families, and everyone who bears the burden of that tragic day. The person responsible needs to be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino mentioned this incident as reflective of the “Mamdani effect,” which hints at a larger societal issue.

Spencer Pratt, a former candidate for mayor in Los Angeles, noted, “Honestly, I don’t remember anything like this happening before we saw Mamdani and AOC laughing at the memorial on national television.”