The Department of Homeland Security has created a specialized task force dedicated to protecting national monuments, statues, and memorials.
Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf announced the creation of the DHS Protecting American Communities Task Force on Wednesday morning. The group will coordinate departmental law enforcement agency assets to best defend the monuments.
“DHS is answering the President’s call to use our law enforcement personnel across the country to protect our historic landmarks,” Wolf said in a DHS press release. “We won’t stand idly by while violent anarchists and rioters seek not only to vandalize and destroy the symbols of our nation, but to disrupt law and order and sow chaos in our communities.”
“As we approach the July 4th holiday, I have directed the deployment and pre-positioning of Rapid Deployment Teams (RDT) across the country to respond to potential threats to facilities and property,” he added. “While the Department respects every American’s right to protest peacefully, violence and civil unrest will not be tolerated.”
President Trump signed an executive order last week to protect monuments, statues, and memorials from acts of vandalism. He said the order would combat “criminal violence” and the desecration of monuments, referring to recent calls to tear down statues of historical figures as “lawless acts against our Great country.”
The president has repeatedly announced that anyone arrested for vandalizing or destroying statues would face up to 10 years in prison under the Veterans’ Memorial Preservation and Recognition Act. His commentary and subsequent order fall in line with his recent message of “law and order!”
Memorials and statues dedicated to historical figures have recently drawn the ire of protesters who have sought to raise awareness about systemic racism and police brutality against people of color. The protesters have on multiple occasions opted to pull down different statues, while others have been removed by local governments following city council votes.
