Protesters in Portland, Oregon, pulled down a monument of George Washington and burned an American flag that was wrapped around the statue’s head.
Roughly 20 demonstrators gathered at the statue Thursday night. A flag that was draped around the statue’s head was set on fire, according to the local CBS affiliate. Within the next hour, the number of people there increased, and they toppled the bronze monument.
A statue of George Washington has been pulled down with ropes at NE 57th & Sandy near the German American Society. #koin6news #PDXprotests #protest2020 #Portland #BlackLivesMatter #BLMPDX #BLM #Oregon #Investigation #JusticeForGeorgeFloyd #vandalism #spraypaint #statue #rosecity pic.twitter.com/xmWYtpcbJE
— Jennifer Dowling (@JenDowlingKoin6) June 19, 2020
As of Friday morning, the statue remained on the ground, covered in spray paint. Some of the messages written on the toppled monument included: “BLM,” an acronym for Black Lives Matter; “You’re on native land;” “f— cops;” “white fragility;” and “no good cops.”
Washington, the nation’s first president, owned slaves but later in life began to oppose slavery and in his will ordered that his slaves be freed after his wife’s death.
President Trump indirectly commented on the toppling of Washington on social media. He quote-tweeted Breitbart News’s senior editor-at-large, Joel Pollak, who tweeted: “Washington owned slaves. Rename Washington state the Seattle Pacific Autonomous Zone #SPAZ,” a knock on the six-block radius in the city that has been taken over by citizens. The president added, “If the Dems get in, our Country is in big trouble!”
Amid demonstrations, which began after the death of George Floyd in police custody last month, many statues or dedications meant to honor Confederate or pro-slavery historical figures have been defaced or toppled.
