The city of Philadelphia will remove a statue of Christopher Columbus because of continued violent protests in front of the monument.

Mayor Jim Kenney, a Democrat, said on Wednesday that he plans to ask the city’s Art Commission to sign off on the removal during its next meeting on July 22. He said the violent protests near the statue sparked “public safety concerns” following a fist-fight that broke out on Tuesday evening between Black Lives Matter protesters who want to remove the statue and a group of white residents guarding it.