Man Breaks Into National Civil Rights Museum And Then Falls Asleep!

What do you do when you are in Memphis and feel very sleepy? If you are Dexter Anderson, you would go find a place to sleep that has some substance and background to it. Why not the National Civil Rights Museum, then?

That’s right. A Tennessee man was arrested after he was found sleeping inside the National Civil Rights Museum late on Tuesday. According to WREG, Dexter Anderson first threw a rock through one of the windows of the Museum’s second floor windows. Eventually, he managed to get into one of the rooms and slept there. Meanwhile, a security guard had alerted the police by then who came over to find Dexter sleeping on a bed inside Room 308 of the old Lorraine Motel, reports Reuters. Room 308 is not far from Room 306, outside of which King was assassinated on April 4, 1968.

Police say that there was little damage to the Windows of the rooms. A museum spokesperson, Faith Morris, said that the facility would remain closed until Thursday.

“We had a break-in at around midnight. The vandal was apprehended, but he did leave some damage to one of the King rooms,” she said. “For public safety, we’re going to close off that area. Entrance to the King room will be delayed while we secure the area. We’ll resume Thursday.” Morris added that the only damage to the room were the broken windows and that nothing else from the room had been vandalized or tampered with.

WREG also reports that before getting into the room, Dexter also stole the wreath that marks the spot where King was standing when he was shot. However, since the wreath is not original, museum authorities were able to replace it with another one soon after. Meanwhile, visitors to the National Civil Rights Museum were disappointed to learn about the incident and the sudden closure of the venue subsequently.

Stephen has been charged with criminal trespass and vandalism. He is being held at the Shelby County Jail. Police say that he has had previous record of being involved in a number of theft, burglary and trespassing cases.

Room numbers 307 and 306 were occupied by King on his last night while others in his party used room 308. Room 307 has been since then converted to a hallway from where visitors can view the other rooms.

Do you think a national monument like the National Civil Rights Museum deserves more security?

[Image via Wikimedia Commons, WREG]