A group of protesters in Portland, Oregon vandalized and tore down a bronze statue of George Washington after wrapping the head in an American flag that was set on fire, local CNN affiliate KOIN 6 News reports.
Amid ongoing protests over racial injustice sparked by the killing of George Floyd, about 20 people assembled near NE Sandy Boulevard and NE 57th Avenue where the statue was located at about 10 p.m. Some of the protesters wrapped an American flag around the statue’s head before setting it on fire, and eventually, the statue was pulled to the ground before the protesters left the area. Video from KOIN 6 News shows the statue on the ground, with graffiti sprayed on it and straps wrapped around it.
At around the same time in Portland, hundreds of protesters led by the groups Rose City Justice and Lavender Caucus, held a peaceful sit-in at Jefferson High School. Another group gathered near the Justice Center, eventually dispersed, with some saying they wanted to rest before Juneteenth, which commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S., on Friday.
Protesters across the country have pulled down statues of Confederate figures, colonial figures like Christopher Columbus, and of historical figures who owned slaves, like Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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