Police on Monday dispersed a crowd of rioters who tried tear down a statue of former U.S. President Andrew Jackson near the White House.
The rioters climbed onto the statue and tied ropes and cords around it before trying to pull the statue away from its base, videos posted to social media showed.
Vandals also doused the marble pedestal with yellow paint.
Police officers moved in with pepper spray to help move vandals and surrounding crowd away from the statue and disperse them out of Lafayette Square, WUSA-TV in Washington reported.
The incident took place around 8 p.m. Most of the crowd stayed in the Black Lives Matter Plaza after being pushed out of Lafayette Square, according to WUS9.
The statue was erected in 1852 on a white marble base and depicts Jackson, the seventh President of the United States, on a rearing horse. It remains mounted on its pedestal.
On the same night, a group of demonstrators reportedly tried to form a “Black House Autonomous Zone,” or “BHAZ” near the White House, in what appears to be an imitation of the self-proclaimed “Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone,” or CHAZ in Seattle—which has since been renamed to “Capitol Hill Occupied Protest,” or CHOP.
A video posted by The Daily Caller shows St. John’s Episocal Church vandalized with spray paint with the acronym “BHAZ.”
Police later secured a perimeter in front of the church.
Late Monday night, President Donald Trump announced on Twitter that “numerous people” have been arrested “for the disgraceful vandalism, in Lafayette Park, of the magnificent Statue of Andrew Jackson, in addition to the exterior defacing of St. John’s Church across the street.”
Trump also warned that those who behave in violation of the Veteran’s Memorial Preservation Act can face 10 years in prison.
Numerous people arrested in D.C. for the disgraceful vandalism, in Lafayette Park, of the magnificent Statue of Andrew Jackson, in addition to the exterior defacing of St. John’s Church across the street. 10 years in prison under the Veteran’s Memorial Preservation Act. Beware!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 23, 2020
Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, who was at the scene Monday night, issued a statement on Twitter praising law enforcement and denouncing the attempted act of desecration by “anarchists.”
“I just left Lafayette Square where another so called ‘peaceful protest’ led to destruction tonight,” he wrote. “Let me be clear: we will not bow to anarchists. Law and order will prevail, and justice will be served.”
I just left Lafayette Square where another so called “peaceful protest” led to destruction tonight. Let me be clear: we will not bow to anarchists. Law and order will prevail, and justice will be served.
— Secretary David Bernhardt (@SecBernhardt) June 23, 2020
Reuters contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times
