Protesters toppled a statue of Jefferson Davis in Richmond, Virginia, Wednesday night as part of ongoing nationwide demonstrations against racial inequality and police brutality.
A crowd gathered, singing and chanting, to watch as the toppled statue was taken away by Richmond police, according to NBC12.
The crowd is heard chanting “f*** that statue” as police placed the Davis statue on the bed of a tow truck in video posted just before midnight to Twitter by Courthouse News reporter Brad Kutner. The crowd can then be heard singing “na na na na hey hey hey goodbye” as the tow truck drove off with the statue.
And here the crowd chants “hey hey hey good bye” as he’s shuttled off to a tow lot.
No incidents with the cops – folks are milling around but mostly heading home.
I’m heading home now, please consider giving me a follow ???? stay safe and have a good one! pic.twitter.com/03Sp4turxP
— BK (@BradKutner) June 11, 2020
The statue had been defaced over the course of the past week. “F*** 12,” an anti-police slogan and “BLM,” short for Black Lives Matter, were spray painted on the statue according to photos posted to Twitter by Kutner. It appeared that a bucket of pink paint was tossed on it as well.
A little context:
Saturday Wednesday pic.twitter.com/nJxzJ9q2HO
— BK (@BradKutner) June 11, 2020
The Richmond protests are part of protests taking place across the country in response to the death of George Floyd. Floyd died in Minneapolis police custody May 25 after an officer kneeled on his neck for more than eight minutes, video of the incident shows. (RELATED: Protesters Topple, Behead Christopher Columbus Statues In Richmond And Boston)
The Davis statue isn’t the first to be targeted in Floyd demonstrations. In Richmond alone, two others have been toppled. Richmond’s Gen. Williams Carter Wickham was torn down last week and its Christopher Columbus statue was tossed in a lake Tuesday night.
Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam announced the removal of the Gen. Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond last Thursday. A judge temporarily blocked the removal June 9.
The Christopher Columbus statue outside the St. Paul, Minn. Capitol building was torn down by protesters on Wednesday, Fox 9 News reported. A Columbus statue in Boston was discovered decapitated Wednesday morning, according to Boston 25 News.
NEW: Protesters yank down Christopher Columbus statue outside Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul. https://t.co/uL6qM3U0jO pic.twitter.com/g2gEiUllg5
— ABC News (@ABC) June 10, 2020
The Davis Monument, erected in 1907, is located in Richmond’s Monument Avenue Historic District, according to the National Park Service. Jefferson Davis was the President of the Confederacy until the Confederacy’s defeat in 1865.
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