USA TODAY US Edition

MELANIA TRUMP SCULPTURE

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An unusual wooden sculpture of the first lady near her hometown in Slovenia was set on fire by vandals on the night of Fourth of July as Americans celebrated Independen­ce Day, according to the artist who commission­ed the statue. Brad Downey, a Berlin-based American artist, posted a video Thursday of the charred statue being removed on his Instagram account. Slovenia police confirmed an investigat­ion has been launched. According to a video published on his website, Downey hired a local carpenter to carve the quirky statue from a tree trunk. Downey told Reuters that the statue was commission­ed to encourage more dialogue about the politics of immigratio­n given Trump’s vow to reduce it.

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TASOS KATOPODIS/GETTY IMAGES

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