A Chicago college student admitted he torched a cross in Grant Park to protest President Donald Trump, insisting the act carried no racist intent.

Fire crews knocked down the blaze near Columbus and Balbo drives around 2:30 p.m. on June 9, according to ABC7 Chicago. Police took a person of interest into custody Tuesday and have filed no charges, treating the case as arson, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

The man who claimed responsibility is Merlin Lu, a 21-year-old University of Illinois Chicago senior who grew up in Naperville, according to NBC 5. (RELATED: Two Men Burned Down Catholic Church In Revenge Plot Ahead Of Holy Week, DOJ Announces)

Lu told the station he carried wooden slats from his Near West Side apartment, built the cross, capped it with a red MAGA hat, and set it on fire with toilet paper and lighter fluid.

Lu denied any bigotry, saying he meant to protest the Trump administration “ruling class” and Christian nationalists who back the president. “I did know about this historical relevance beforehand, but I didn’t know the severity, how racially motivated it may seem from what I did,” Lu told NBC 5. “Cause my protest has nothing to do with race, nothing to do with gender.”

Reporter Chuck Goudie pressed him on whether four years at UIC had taught him the symbol’s meaning. “I just saw the Wikipedia page with the movie with the, like, I think it’s called like ‘Under One Nation’ or something like that,” Lu told NBC 5.

Cross burnings have served as tools of Klan intimidation against black Americans for a century, and the Grant Park site is where Barack Obama gave his 2008 victory speech, according to The Associated Press. The Rev. Michael Pfleger of Saint Sabina — a Catholic priest known for his far-left and radical views — offered a $10,000 reward during the search. “This was so premeditated. You made this cross somewhere. You carried it, you got it downtown. You put it in one of the most visible spots in Chicago, and then you set it afire,” Pfleger told ABC7 Chicago.

The FBI and Chicago police will decide what charges Lu may face, according to NBC 5.