Viking ship, area near U.S. Bank Stadium hit with anti-police graffiti

Police are investigating a rash of vandalism from Saturday night that targeted the area around U.S. Bank Stadium, including the Viking ship that sits on the plaza outside the stadium.

Video surveillance is being reviewed to determine who spray-painted graffiti on stadium property and other nearby buildings around 10 p.m. Saturday, said Minneapolis police spokesman John Elder, while 50 to 100 people were marching to 4th Street and Chicago Avenue.

The crowd was at the stadium "for a very short duration," Elder said. They went to Elliot Park and had dispersed by the time police arrived, he said.

"This was a group of people being lawless. This wasn't wanting to effect change, this wasn't anything other than a group of people wishing to destroy property," he said Sunday morning.

Damage was mostly anti-police graffiti on stadium signage and the Viking ship. The stadium is fenced off for ongoing construction work, so the building itself doesn't appear to be damaged.

The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority (MSFA), the public body that oversees the stadium on behalf of taxpayers, said it's aware of the vandalism.

"We will clean it up as quickly as possible," said Lisa Niess, spokeswoman for the MSFA.

A building across the street was tagged with graffiti and a window was broken. Nearby, several government buildings were vandalized with graffiti, including the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office, the Juvenile Justice Center, the Hennepin County Public Safety Facility and the Federal Courthouse.