Protesters attacked Christopher Columbus statues in Richmond, Virginia, and Boston Tuesday night.
The Columbus statue in Richmond’s Byrd Park was toppled, set on fire, and thrown into a nearby lake, ABC affiliate WRIC News reported. The Boston statue, located in Christopher Columbus Park, was discovered decapitated Wednesday morning, according to Boston 25 News.
The Richmond statue is seen ablaze after it was torn down in a video of the incident posted by Bloomberg News to Twitter. The video then shows protesters dragging it into a lake and kicking it.
#BlackLivesMatters protesters tore down a Christopher Columbus statue, set it on fire, then dumped it in a lake in Richmond, Virginia on Tuesday pic.twitter.com/VQlSZ2jrSn
— Bloomberg QuickTake (@QuickTake) June 10, 2020
After protesters threw the statue into the lake, they allegedly attacked an Associated Press photographer, according to AP reporter Brent Solomon.
Boston police are investigating the incident involving the Columbus statue near Faneuil Hall, Boston 25 News reported. (RELATED: US Army Is Now Considering Renaming Federal Bases That Honor Confederate Leaders)
BREAKING OVERNIGHT: @bostonpolice are investigating after Christopher Columbus statue in #ChristopherColumbus Park is beheaded.
Details starting at 5 a.m. on @boston25
????: @MParkBoston25 pic.twitter.com/vDkDhSsqyW
— Julianne Lima (@JulianneLimaTV) June 10, 2020
Protests have been taking place across the country in response to the death of George Floyd. Floyd died in police custody May 25 after an officer kneeled on his neck, a video of the incident showed.
Demonstrators have also removed Confederate monuments in recent weeks.
The Gen. Williams Carter Wickham statue in Richmond was defaced then toppled in Richmond last week. Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam announced last week that he would remove the statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee that stands in Richmond. However, a judge temporarily blocked the removal.
People gather around the Robert E. Lee statue on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia, on June 4, 2020, amid continued protests over the death of George Floyd in police custody. (Photo: Ryan M. Kelly/AFP via Getty Images)
Violent clashes between white supremacists, Black Lives Matter, antifa, and other groups took place over the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.
The Columbus statue in Richmond’s Byrd Park was the first Columbus statue in the South, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. It was dedicated in 1927.
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