Protesters in Baltimore hauled down a statue of Christopher Columbus and threw it into a harbor in defiance of President Trump hours after he compared them to 'Nazis and terrorists' in his Fourth of July address.
Just one day after Trump warned that people who 'damage or deface' statues will receive 'a minimum of 10 years in prison', a group of demonstrators used ropes to topple the monument and dump it into the city's Inner Harbor.
Police were reportedly at the scene but did not intervene, as a spokesperson for the Baltimore Mayor Bernard Young explained that protecting statues was not a priority for the police department who were more focused on homicides and other crimes.
Elsewhere, similar acts of defiance and demonstrations were held in several cities across the country.
Flag burnings were also seen in Washington, near to where the president was hosting hundreds at the White House for a July Fourth fireworks display, as well as in New York City outside the Trump Tower, and on Trump's Hollywood Walk of Fame star.
And at the nation's biggest Confederate monument, which has been used as a meeting place by the KKK, the Black Panthers gathered to demand the removal of the racist sculpture.
In Baltimore, cellphone footage shared to Facebook, showed the statue of the Italian explorer with two long ropes slung around it as a bustling crowd waits. The group simultaneously yells 'pull' and the gargantuan statue falls onto the brick ground.
Elsewhere, similar acts of defiance and demonstrations were held in several cities across the country.
Flag burnings were also seen in Washington, near to where the president was hosting hundreds at the White House for a July Fourth fireworks display, as well as in New York City outside the Trump Tower, and on Trump's Hollywood Walk of Fame star.
And at the nation's biggest Confederate monument, which has been used as a meeting place by the KKK, the Black Panthers gathered to demand the removal of the racist sculpture.
In Baltimore, cellphone footage shared to Facebook, showed the statue of the Italian explorer with two long ropes slung around it as a bustling crowd waits. The group simultaneously yells 'pull' and the gargantuan statue falls onto the brick ground.
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A group of demonstrators in Baltimore used ropes (pictured around the statue) to topple the Christopher Columbus monument and dump it into the city's Inner Harbor
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The empty plinth is all that remains after the statue was torn down on Saturday evening by a group of protesters in Baltimore, Maryland
Loud cheers can be heard and several protesters were seen jumping out of joy.
From there, a group of protesters gathered around the now-broken statue, grabbed the ropes and began dragging it to Inner Harbor.
Several people can be hear cheering off camera when the statue crashes into the water and appears to sink.
According to The Baltimore Sun, the statue was owned by the city and dedicated in 1984 by former Mayor William Donald Schaefer and President Ronald Reagan.
A spokesman for Baltimore Mayor Bernard C. 'Jack' Young said the toppling of the statue is a part of a national and global reexamination over monuments 'that may represent different things to different people.'
'We understand the dynamics that are playing out in Baltimore are part of a national narrative,' Lester Davis said.
'We understand the frustrations. What the city wants to do is serve as a national model, particularly with how we've done with protesting.'
The group protesting on Saturday were reportedly demanding funds from the police department be diverted to social services, the public education, housing for the homeless community, reparations for Black Americans and the removal of all statues 'honoring white supremacists, owners of enslaved people, perpetrators of genocide, and colonizers.'
For police officers in Baltimore, who like may other departments are facing increased scrutiny, reprimanding civilians over statues is not at the forefront of their agenda.
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| At lease three police officers with the Baltimore Police Department look into the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, Maryland, after a statue of Christopher Columbus was rolled in on Saturday |
At lease three police officers with the Baltimore Police Department look into the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, Maryland, after a statue of Christopher Columbus was rolled in on Saturday
The Christopher Columbus statue in Columbus Piazza in Little Italy in 2015
'Our officers in Baltimore City, who are some of the finest in country, they are principally concerned with the preservation of life. That is sacrosanct. Everything else falls secondary to that, including statues,' said Davis.
But President Trump appears to disagree and last week, he said civilians caught toppling the Confederate monuments could face up to 10 years in jail. He authorized federal officials to 'arrest anyone who vandalizes or destroys any monument, statue or other such federal property in the U.S. with up to 10 years in prison.'
His apparent distaste for Black Lives Matter protesters seeped into his Fourth of July address at the White House, where he compared them to Nazis and terrorists.
'American heroes defeated the Nazis, dethroned the fascists toppled the communists, saved American values, upheld American principles, and chased down terrorists to the very ends of the earth,' he said.
Statues of Columbus have also been toppled or vandalized in cities such as Miami; Richmond, Virginia; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Boston, where one was decapitated.
A large group of Black Panther Party members descended onto Stone Mountain Confederate Memorial in Georgia on Saturday
Protesters burn U.S. flags during a protest in front of Trump Tower, in New York City on Saturday, July 4
The Refuse Fascism group and protestors burn the American Flag outside of the White House in Washington DC. July 04. Kerrigan Williams: 'Black folks are not free from the chains of oppression, so we don't get to truly celebrate Independence Day'
Armed Black Lives Matter activists and right-wing groups came together in Richmond, Virginia on Saturday in a united show of support for the 2nd Amendment at an Open Carry rally
People rally in New Orleans, Louisiana, in front of Lusher Charter School to demand it changes its name because it honors staunch segregationist Robert Mills Lusher
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