Two statues of Christopher Columbus have been removed from their respective places in Chicago following a series of violent protests and clashes between the police and demonstrators.

Ordering the removal of the statues located in Grant Park and Little Italy was Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot who insisted the monuments were “temporarily removed” in order to “protect public safety and to preserve a safe space for an inclusive and democratic public dialogue about our city’s symbols.”

The two statues of the maritime explorer were removed at around 3 am on Friday, whereas the team put to the task used a crane to lift the 33-foot-tall bronze statue located at Grant Park.

The statues’ removal followed shortly after demonstrators gathered at Lightfoot’s home demanding that the ‘offensive’ statues are removed. As critics of the statues argue, the monuments are a symbol of oppression and do not belong in the modern world.

Previously, a series of violent protests took place in Grant Park where demonstrators clashed with the police and attempted to topple the giant statue by themselves using ropes.

According to the police, nearly fifty officers were injured by “criminal agitators” who threw bottles at them and set off fireworks during a Friday protest at the park.

As Chicago Police Superintendent David O. Brown insisted, the protest, which was initially peaceful, turned into a “mob action” whereas the instigators “deliberately sought to injure officers.”

As the superintendent added, people could be killed or seriously injured if they managed to topple the Columbus statue that officers were trying to protect.

Following the faceoff, Brown took to Twitter to share his disappointment over the incident and revealed that 49 Chicago officers were injured. He also confirmed that 12 agitators linked to the battery of police officers and damage to property got arrested.

“We do not want to engage in violent clashes with protesters, but when the law is being broken, our oath demands that we act to uphold the law. The rule of law has always been, and remains today the essence of policing and the foundation of our democracy,” Brown said.

“We deeply respect an individual’s right to peacefully protest and we will do everything we can to protect that right. But, we will not stand by, and in fact we are obligated to act, while City or private property is being damaged or while violent acts are being committed.”

Following the City’s decision to have the two statues that had been the center of protests removed, Mayor Lightfoot suggested that eliminating the tensions in these areas will allow officers to be “where they are most needed throughout the city, and particularly in our South and West Side communities.”

 

Replaced!