A bronze Melania Trump statue in her home country of Slovenia was sawed off at the ankles and stolen after the original wooden version was set on fire and partially burned up years earlier.

Police said that they were investigating the disappearance of the life-size statue of the First Lady, erected near her hometown of Sevnica.

🚨 BREAKING : Melania Trump statue sawed off at ankles and stolen from her hometown in Slovenian. pic.twitter.com/ZRafnFaGMq

— David J Harris Jr (@DavidJHarrisJr) May 17, 2025

"A theft was reported on May 13, and immediately police officers visited the crime scene and launched an investigation," Slovenian police spokesperson Alenka Drenik Rangus said.

Melania Trump statue goes missing in Slovenia https://t.co/uTXl5M6nAs

— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) May 16, 2025

A local baker told the Associated Press the bronze statue didn't look very much like Melania and wasn't liked by many when asked about the brazen theft.

"I think no one was really proud at this statue, not even the first lady of the USA," Franja Kranjc said. "So, I think it's OK that it's removed."

The original version of the statue was carved with a chainsaw from the trunk of a linden tree, and unveiled during President Donald Trump's first presidency.

Statue of Melania Trump by conceptual artist erected near her hometown https://t.co/d5T3QtHP0V pic.twitter.com/BfUJs96c3E

— CGTN (@CGTNOfficial) July 6, 2019

Created by artist Ales "Maxi" Zupevc," the wooden statue was commissioned by Kentucky artist Brad Downey. Zupevc painted parts of the statue pale blue to depict the gorgeous Jackie Kennedy-type coat dress Melania wore during Trump's first Inauguration swearing-in ceremony in 2017.

Downey also discussed why he chose Zupevc for the project, and explained that he chose Maxi "out of several local artists, because of the parallels between his life and Melania's":

"He was born in the same month and year and at the same hospital as her. Like her – her father was a mechanic and she grew up in a high-rise – he is from a working class family," Downey said.

"I took the position that I was not going to control the aesthetics of the project. I would keep a conceptual distance, and not dictate anything," he added." I only gave him a photo to work from, of the moment she became the first lady."

The statue was unveiled in the first part of 2020, and that July, reports surfaced that vandals set the wooden statue on fire, leaving it partly burned. 

The second bronze statue, commissioned again by Downey, was then built on the wooden stump of the first one, and reportedly modeled after the original. A plaque next to it read, "dedicated to the eternal memory of a monument to Melania, which stood at this location."

At the time, Downey said, "I want to know why they did it," Reuters reported.

He also said the second time around, the statue would be made "as solid as possible, out of a durable material which cannot be wantonly destroyed."

Burned Wooden Statue Of Melania Trump In Slovenia Replaced With Bronze Edition https://t.co/NWxILYDyZu pic.twitter.com/8aQwU7BBjs

— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) September 18, 2020

At the time, the police spokeswoman told the Guardian, in the story linked above, that "the investigation in this case has not been completed yet, so we cannot reveal details due to the interest of further procedures." No arrests were ever believed to be made in connection with the arson.

There has been no comment from the White House or the First Lady about the statue's theft.

Editor's Note: President Trump is leading America into the "Golden Age" as Democrats try desperately to stop it.  

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