Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan called on the leaders of Baltimore to step in and take back control of the city from protesters after a group toppled a statue of Christopher Columbus.
Hogan, a Republican, said that the city of Baltimore was responsible for maintaining peace and stepping in when public property is destroyed, such as the Columbus statue that was torn down and rolled into the city’s Inner Harbor on Saturday.
“While we welcome peaceful protests and constructive dialogue on whether and how to put certain monuments in context or move them to museums or storage through a legal process, lawlessness, vandalism, and destruction of public property are completely unacceptable,” Hogan said in a Sunday statement.
“That is the antithesis of democracy and should be condemned by everyone, regardless of their politics. Baltimore City leaders need to regain control of their own streets and immediately start making them safer,” he added.
Today I issued the following statement on events in Baltimore City. City leaders need to regain control of their own streets and immediately start making them safer. pic.twitter.com/lnCAxjKvAG
— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) July 5, 2020
A spokesman for Baltimore Mayor Jack Young said that the city respects the protesters and did not signal any intention of intervening in their destruction of monuments.
“We understand the dynamics that are playing out in Baltimore are part of a national narrative. We understand the frustrations,” said Young’s spokesman Lester Davis. “What the city wants to do is serve as a national model, particularly with how we’ve done with protesting. We’ve seen people who have taken to the streets, we have supported them. We are going to continue to support it. That’s a full stop.”
Statues of historical figures have been removed or ripped down in several cities throughout the United States as part of the protests against racial injustice and police brutality that started following the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man who died after an officer knelt on his neck for several minutes.
