US-ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-CONFLICT-PROTEST

Unhinged Leftist Hordes Tear Down And Burn American Flag

Benjamin Netanyahu

Hamas

ISIS

Israel

Leftists

Matt Walsh

monuments

Opinion

Protests

Readers Pass

Washington D.C.

On Wednesday, the same day pro-Hamas extremists tore down and burned American flags in Washington, D.C. while chanting &#8220;Allahu Akbar&#8221; and waving Hamas terrorist flags, Arkansas GOP Sen. Tom Cotton introduced a bill that would terminate any visa and require deportation within 60 days of any non-citizen convicted of a criminal offense during a protest.
Senators Ted Budd (R-NC) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) co-sponsored the legislation titled the “No Visas for Violent Criminals Act.”
“The Biden administration’s inaction against pro-Hamas mobs has only emboldened these extremists. Our legislation makes clear that a green card does not give individuals the right to break our laws in support of anti-Semitic views,” Sen. Cotton <a href="https://www.cotton.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cotton-colleagues-introduce-bill-to-sanction-non-citizens-convicted-of-crimeswhile-protesting">stated</a>.
The bill states:
<blockquote>
Any alien who is convicted of a crime related to the alien’s conduct at and during the course of a protest that occurs at an institution of higher education or at a facility in the United States operated by a religious institution; involving the defacement, vandalism, or destruction of a Federal memorial or monument, including any veterans memorial &#8230; involving the intentional obstruction of any highway, road, bridge, or tunnel, is deportable.
If any alien is convicted of a deportable crime described in section 237(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act &#8230; any visa issued to such alien shall immediately be cancelled; and not later than 60 days after such conviction, such alien shall be removed from the United States.
</blockquote>
On Wednesday, the extremists were protesting in response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu giving a speech before the U.S. Congress. Much of the chaos unfolded at Union Station, where the extremists tore down three American flags and replaced them with Palestinian flags.
The extremists vandalized the Christopher Columbus Memorial Fountain with graffiti that said, &#8220;Hamas Is Coming&#8221; and &#8220;Zionists Go To Hell.&#8221;
Some of the extremists also carried Hamas flags or other flags that appeared to be linked to Islamic extremism, wore Hamas headbands, and carried pro-Nazi signs that spoke about Islam&#8217;s &#8220;Final Solution&#8221; for the Jewish State.
Ryan Saavedra contributed to this article.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pro-hamas-protesters-chant-allahu-akbar-as-they-tear-down-and-burn-american-flags-hamas-is-coming">Related: Pro-Hamas Protesters Chant ‘Allahu Akbar’ As They Tear Down And Burn American Flags: ‘Hamas Is Coming’</a>

Miitary Aid to Israel

Cotton’s New Bill Would Deport Non-Citizens Who Destroy Federal Memorials, Monuments

Congress

memorial

Non-citizen

Politics

Pro-Hamas

Tom Cotton

Vandalism

New York City Democratic Mayor <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/eric-adams" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eric Adams</a> said on Tuesday that he would donate $5,000 of his own money to anyone who provides information that leads to the arrest and convictions of the vandals who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/anti-israel-protesters-burn-american-flag-vandalize-wwi-memorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">trashed</a> a World War I memorial in Central Park. 
Adams’s promise comes after New York’s monument to the 107th U.S. Infantry was vandalized by anti-Israel protesters on Monday with graffiti that read “Gaza” and “Palestine will be free.” Protesters also burned an American flag and plastered the memorial with stickers with messages like “Stop the Genocide. End the apartheid. Free Palestine.”
“In spite of the unpopular notion, I’m going to say it: I love America,” Adams said during a press conference in front of the memorial, <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/05/07/us-news/mayor-adams-donates-5g-of-own-money-toward-reward-targeting-war-memorial-vandals-we-cannot-remain-silent/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the New York Post.  
“We cannot remain silent when our symbols of freedom are desecrated by individuals who clearly hate our country and way of life,” he added. “I am not going to remain silent because our silence gives the belief that everything is OK.”
The monument to the 107th Infantry, first <a href="https://www.centralparknyc.org/locations/107th-united-states-infantry#:~:text=The%20107th%20United%20States%20Infantry,in%20the%20throes%20of%20battle." target="_blank" rel="noopener">dedicated</a> in September 1927, pays tribute to the members of the unit’s Seventh Regiment who were vital in breaking Germany’s Hindenburg Line during the final months of World War I. The Seventh Regiment <a href="https://www.dvidshub.net/news/294676/ny-national-guard-soldiers-brokethe-hindenburg-line-100-years-ago#:~:text=One%20unit%2C%20the%20107th%20Infantry,Soldiers%20who%20began%20the%20battle." target="_blank" rel="noopener">had</a> an incredibly high casualty count  — with 396 men killed and 753 wounded out of 1,662 soldiers who fought. The monument was designed by Karl Illava, who served as a sergeant with the infantry. 
“The 107th United States Infantry memorial in Central Park is a symbol of the freedoms so many fought and died for — the same freedoms many are abusing with cowardly acts of vandalism,” Adams <a href="https://twitter.com/NYCMayor/status/1787959951698108900" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. “We cannot allow these symbols to be desecrated by some in our city wanting to cause chaos and disorder.”
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The mayor added that arresting the individuals responsible for the vandalism was a top priority for the New York Police Department (NYPD), which was running down several leads. New York Crime Stoppers is offering an additional $10,000 reward for information on the vandalism.
 A monument honoring Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, a leader in the Union Army during the Civil War, was also vandalized in Central Park on Monday evening.
The anti-Israel protests in New York City were part of an organized “Day of Rage” demonstration that took place near the Met Gala, where celebrities gathered for the annual Costume Institute Benefit. It also fell on Holocaust Remembrance Day.
Zach Jewell contributed to this report.

Screen Shot 2024-05-08 at 10.01.52 AM

‘I Love America’: Eric Adams Offering Reward For Info On Vandals Who Trashed World War I Memorial

American History

Crime

Eric Adams

New York

New York City

U.S.

World War I

A federal judge has blocked the removal of a Civil War memorial from Arlington National Cemetery over a lawsuit that says that its removal would damage the graves of the Confederate soldiers buried around the memorial. 
U.S. District Judge Rossie Alston <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/arlington-cemetery-confederate-memorial-removal-blocked-for-now/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">issued</a> a temporary restraining order on Monday stopping the Pentagon’s removal of the Reconciliation Monument, also known as the Confederate Memorial, after the Defend Arlington group sued to stop the memorial’s removal. The memorial was ordered to be removed after Congress created a commission in 2021 to evaluate links to the Confederacy on any federal property. 
Alston&#8217;s <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/us/confederate-memorial-spared-takedown-judges-order" target="_blank" rel="noopener">order</a> blocks &#8220;any acts to deconstruct, tear down, remove, or alter the object of this case.&#8221;
Defend Arlington has opposed the removal of the memorial, saying that taking it down would be illegal. The memorial was first erected in 1914 in a section of the cemetery meant for Confederate soldiers. 
&#8220;The removal will desecrate, damage, and likely destroy the Memorial longstanding at ANC as a grave marker and impede the Memorial&#8217;s eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places,&#8221; the lawsuit said. 
The monument, which was <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesfarrell/2023/12/18/judge-halts-takedown-of-arlington-cemetery-confederate-memorial-report-says/?sh=78ff0de7334f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">designed</a> by a prominent Jewish American sculptor named Moses Ezekiel, is at the center of the graves of Confederate soldiers. It was widely seen as a <a href="https://www.dailysignal.com/2023/01/18/removing-the-confederate-memorial-from-arlington-cemetery-what-would-lincoln-and-grant-think/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">symbol of reconciliation</a> in a war that took the lives of over 600,000 Americans on both sides and left the South in ruins.
The monument references Isaiah 2:4, which talks about turning swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks, a powerful message for a nation recovering from the trauma of war. Up to the present day, many presidents, <a href="https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/Explore/Monuments-and-Memorials/Confederate-Memorial">including Barack Obama</a>, have sent flowers to the monument on Memorial Day.
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A group of House Republicans wrote a letter last week to the Pentagon <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-lawmakers-demand-pentagon-stop-removal-confederate-memorial-arlington-national-cemetery" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a> that the removal was unnecessary and needlessly divisive. 
“Despite bipartisan support for this monument, the Naming Commission, established by the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, clearly overstepped its legislative authority when it recommended that the Department of the Army remove the Reconciliation Monument from Arlington National Cemetery,&#8221; 44 Republicans, led by Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA), wrote.
&#8220;[T]he Reconciliation Monument does not honor nor commemorate the Confederacy; the memorial commemorates reconciliation and national unity.”

Judge Blocks Removal Of Confederate Monument From Arlington National Cemetery

Judge Stops Removal Of Civil War Memorial From Arlington National Cemetery

Confederacy

Pentagon

Virginia

A committee of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/new-york-city" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York City</a> Council is set to vote Tuesday on a proposal that could result in monuments to figures like <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/george-washington" target="_blank" rel="noopener">George Washington</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/christopher-columbus" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Christopher Columbus</a> being taken down. 
The proposal before the NYC Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries, and International Intergroup Relations stipulates that public art that depicts someone who has a connection to slavery or “crimes against humanity” be taken down or have an “explanatory plaque” put up. 
“This bill would require the Public Design Commission (PDC) to publish a plan to remove works of art on City property that depict a person who owned enslaved persons or directly benefitted [sic] economically from slavery, or who participated in systemic crimes against indigenous peoples or other crimes against humanity. If PDC determines a work of art depicts a person who fits these criteria and decides not to remove the work of art, PDC would be required to include in the plan steps it will take to install an explanatory plaque next to the work of art,” the <a href="https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=6252793&amp;GUID=8AE3AFA6-B96B-4AF2-AEBF-CF4870C824AE&amp;Options=&amp;Search=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proposal</a> says. 
Republican officials said the proposal is an attempt to erase history and dishonor the individuals who created America. 
“This is little more than an attempt by the radical left to rewrite our nation’s history,” said Republican Councilwoman Joann Ariola of Queens, <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/09/18/nyc-council-advances-bid-that-could-yank-monuments-honoring-washington-jefferson-columbus/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the New York Post. “These men all had an enormous impact on this country, and these statues commemorating their achievements have been in place for decades.&#8221;
“The radical left has been trying to reframe our nation as one born from evil, and it is time we put our foot down and say enough is enough,” she said. “The Founding Fathers and the others who worked so hard to establish this great country should be celebrated, not eliminated from memory.”
There are multiple statues of Washington, the nation’s first president and military commander during the war for independence throughout the city, including one in front of <a href="https://www.nps.gov/feha/index.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Federal Hall</a>, which served as the home to the nation’s first Congress, executive branch offices, and Supreme Court. There are also monuments to Washington in <a href="https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/union-square-park/monuments/1676" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Union Square Park</a> and a <a href="https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/lafayette-square/monuments/1650" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statue</a> of Washington and Frenchman Marquis de Lafayette who fought with the Americans during the American Revolution. 
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Columbus, attributed with first establishing a link between Europe and the Americas, also has several monuments throughout the city, including a prominent statue in Central Park. The explorer has been a major figure for the Italian-American community, which has held him up as a key tie between Italy and the U.S. 
Monuments to Dutch explorer and settler Peter Stuyvesant, Founding Father John Jay, and prominent early New York political figure and Erie Canal proponent DeWitt Clinton could also be on the chopping block.
New York City Officials have already <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/thomas-jefferson-statue-officially-booted-from-new-york-city-council-chamber" target="_blank" rel="noopener">removed a statue</a> of Declaration of Independence author Thomas Jefferson from the city council chambers and a statue of President Teddy Roosevelt <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/problematic-theodore-roosevelt-statue-to-be-removed-from-nycs-museum-of-natural-history" target="_blank" rel="noopener">from in front</a> of the city’s Natural History Museum.

The statue of Washington in Union Square Park, New York city

NYC To Consider A Proposal That Could Mean Taking Down Monuments To George Washington, Columbus

Christopher Columbus

George Washington

Social Issues

A <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/missouri" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Missouri</a> county named for <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/andrew-jackson" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Andrew Jackson</a> will remove two statues of the former president despite county residents previously voting to keep the monuments up. 
City officials in Jackson County, Missouri, will remove statues of Jackson outside courthouses in Independence and Kansas City after the Jackson County Legislature <a href="https://fox4kc.com/news/jackson-county-to-remove-andrew-jackson-statues-outside-courthouses/">voted</a> 7-1 to remove the statues. The vote came after the county legislature had previously decided to let residents vote on the fate of the statues in a ballot initiative in November 2020. 
At the ballot initiative, voters in the county voted to keep the statues, with over 72% of county residents <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Jackson_County,_Missouri,_Question_2,_Removal_of_Andrew_Jackson_Statutes_(November_2020)" target="_blank" rel="noopener">voting against</a> a proposal to remove the statues of Jackson, who was president from 1829-1837. 
“I remain committed in my belief that the statues of a man who owned slaves, caused thousands of Native Americans to die and never stepped foot in our County should be removed from our public facilities,” <a href="https://fox4kc.com/politics/your-local-election-headquarters/jackson-county-residents-vote-to-keep-andrew-jackson-statues-outside-courthouses/">said</a> County Executive Frank White after the November vote. 
The statues of Jackson, who is credited with orchestrating the American victory at the Battle of New Orleans against the British during the War of 1812, were in front of the Jackson County Courthouse in Kansas City and the Historic Truman Courthouse in Independence. 
According to the Jackson County Historical Society, the county was <a href="https://www.jchs.org/history-of-jackson-county#:~:text=Jackson%20County%20was%20organized%20on,minuscule%20settlement%20near%20a%20spring." target="_blank" rel="noopener">organized</a> on December 15, 1826 and named for Jackson, who had been a U.S. senator for Tennessee and was nationally known thanks to the Battle of New Orleans. 
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In 2021, the county added a plaque to the statue that referenced Martin Luther King Jr.
 “This statue of Jackson reminds us we are on a path that, in the immortal words of Martin Luther King Jr., bends towards justice. In turn, we must acknowledge past injustices to help us create a greater nation built upon humane policies to light our way and the way of humanity everywhere,” the plaque <a href="https://fox4kc.com/news/jackson-county-to-remove-andrew-jackson-statues-outside-courthouses/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">read</a>. 
Last month, Legislator Manny Abarca introduced a <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2023-06-12/jackson-county-legislator-wants-andrew-jackson-statues-removed-from-kansas-city-area-courthouses#:~:text=%22It%20is%20in%20the%20moral,groups%20or%20proponents%20of%20slavery" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resolution</a> taking aim at Jackson over his ties to slavery and the Trail of Tears. 
&#8220;It is in the moral interest of Jackson County to immediately create separation from these moments in our nation’s history through the removal of statues or monuments associated with them so as to not accidentally bestow honor on individuals who were engaged in the genocide of indigenous groups or proponents of slavery,&#8221; the resolution said. 
The statues have been a target of vandalism in recent years, with some labeling the former president as a racist. After the county legislature’s vote, they will be removed and stored by the city.

Kansas City Cityscapes And City Views

County Named For Andrew Jackson To Remove Monuments To Former President

Andrew Jackson

Missouri

Statues

A family member of Coretta Scott King, the wife of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., despises a new monument unveiled late last week in Boston to honor him.
The 22-foot tall bronze statue, dubbed “The Embrace,” was meant to capture a hug Dr. King shared with his wife after he won the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize, CBS News <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/monument-honoring-dr-martin-luther-king-jr-coretta-scott-king-unveiled-boston-the-embrace/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-reader-unique-id="4">reported</a>.
It cost $10 million and was designed by Hank Willis Thomas and MASS Design Group, the report said, and is located in Freedom Plaza of the Boston Common.
“The mainstream media … was reporting on it like it was all beautiful, ’cause they were told they had to say that,” Seneca Scott, Coretta’s cousin, <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/01/15/woke-mlk-penis-statue-insults-black-community-coretta-scott-king-kin/?utm_medium=SocialFlow&amp;utm_campaign=SocialFlow&amp;utm_source=NYPTwitter">told</a> the New York Post. “But then when it came out, a little boy pointed out — ‘That’s a penis!’ and everyone was like, ‘Yo, that’s a big old d***, man.&#8221;
“If you had showed that statute (sic) to anyone in the hood, they’d have been like, ‘No, absolutely not,’&#8221; he continued, according to the Post. “Ten million dollars were wasted to create a masturbatory metal homage to my legendary family members — one of the all-time greatest American families.”
Seneca Scott blamed &#8220;woke&#8221; activists.
“The woke algorithm is just broke, I don’t know what else to tell you,&#8221; he said. “If you went through all of that and that’s what you came up with, something’s wrong.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
BREAKING: The bronze sculpture called “The Embrace” honoring Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King has just been unveiled on the Boston Common <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/7news?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#7news</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MLKWeekend?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MLKWeekend</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MLKDay2023?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MLKDay2023</a> <a href="https://t.co/IckphP15FL">pic.twitter.com/IckphP15FL</a>
&mdash; Amaka Ubaka (@AmakaUbakaTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/AmakaUbakaTV/status/1614002232180998145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Imari Paris Jeffries, executive director of Embrace Boston, the group responsible for overseeing the installation of the statue, said that he cried when he first saw it.
“And someone said to me, before I saw it for the first time, ‘Imagine when you see it, you’re going to cry,’” Jeffries said. “And I said, ‘I’ve seen monuments before. I’m not going to cry when I see a monument.’ And I actually did.”
“And despite the fact that we’re in the middle of the city, it is a quiet place. And so it’s a place of both contemplation and joy simultaneously,” he said. “And so I think it’s one of America’s most miraculous pieces of public art.”
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mlks-the-embrace-statue-unveiled-in-boston-and-people-have-thoughts-hideous-and-depressing">MLK&#8217;s &#8216;The Embrace&#8217; Statue Unveiled In Boston And People Have Thoughts: &#8216;Hideous And Depressing&#8217;</a>

The Embrace Statue

$10M ‘Wasted’: Family Of Coretta Scott King Has Crude Comparison For MLK Statue

Family Of Coretta Scott King Has Crude Comparison For MLK Statue

Boston

General

Martin Luther King Jr.

Massachusetts

Almost 50 Confederate memorials were moved, renamed, or taken down in 2021 while over 30 schools were renamed or closed in 2021 according to a new report. 
“In 2021, at least 49 living memorials were removed, relocated, or renamed, but only 16 monuments came down,” a <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/sites/default/files/whose-heritage-report-third-edition.pdf">report</a> from the progressive Southern Poverty Law Center found. “In 2021, 33 schools were renamed or closed. The year before, 20 schools were renamed.” 
The report noted that there were still about 723 Confederate monuments around the country, mostly located in the South, still standing. In addition to monuments, there are 741 roads named after Confederates, 10 military bases, six bridges, and six bodies of water as well. 
Confederate General Robert E. Lee has the most memorials (235), while Confederate President Jefferson Davis has 144, and commander Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson had 121. 
The annual “Who’s Heritage?” report, however, noted that most Confederate memorials don’t focus on any particular person. 
Investigators support taking down the memorials saying that “abolishing these memorials is a first and essential step in combating the white supremacy values of the Confederacy…”
The number of removed Confederate monuments is <a href="https://www.npr.org/2021/02/23/970610428/nearly-100-confederate-monuments-removed-in-2020-report-says-more-than-700-remai">down</a> from 2020, when about 94 monuments were taken down. 
Last <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/largest-confederate-statue-in-u-s-comes-down-in-virginia">September</a>, the largest Confederate statue in the U.S., a statue of Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia, was removed after a legal battle. The move was championed by then Governor Ralph Northam (D). 
“Yes, that statue has been there for a long time,” Northam said at the time. “But it was wrong then, and it is wrong now. So we’re taking it down. I believe in a Virginia that studies its past in an honest way. I believe that when we learn more, we can do more.”
Just this past <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/largest-confederate-statue-in-u-s-comes-down-in-virginia">week</a>, work started in Richmond to move the pedestals that held statues of Lee, Davis, Jackson, J.E.B. Stewart, and other Confederates. The project is estimated to cost about $1.5 million. 
One of Richmond’s statues, that of General A.P. Hill is also being removed, though only after <a href="https://www.wric.com/news/local-news/city-reaches-agreement-with-family-of-a-p-hill-to-relocate-former-confederate-generals-remains-monument/">negotiations</a> with descendants as Hill was buried under his monument. Pavement will replace Hill’s former monument and grave, now located at a traffic circle, once removal is complete. 
It was also r<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/robert-e-lee-statue-in-charlottesville-to-be-melted-down-turned-into-new-art-piece">eported</a> in December that the statue of Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Virginia, will be melted down and made into a new art piece by an African American heritage organization following a 4-0 vote of the city council to donate the monument.
While often seen as a national issue, the fate of the monuments is often decided at the local level and still is quite contentious in some areas, where legal battles often ensue. 
Last November, Matthews and Middlesex counties in Virginia <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/virginia-counties-vote-overwhelmingly-keep-165800306.html">voted </a>to keep their Confederate memorials by margins of 80% and 70% respectively. Matthews voted to maintain their Soldiers &amp; Sailors Monument and Middlesex voted to keep the Civil War monument at the courthouse. 
According to exit polling done by CNN, 85% of those who voted for Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears wanted to keep the monuments, while 88% of those who voted for Democrat Hala Ayala wanted to take down the monuments. 
In Covington, Georgia, a battle over that city’s Confederate memorial continues, with a judge <a href="https://www.covnews.com/news/judge-says-personally-serve-newton-chairman-order-not-remove-statue/">ordering</a> the statue to not be removed as a legal battle over its future has not finished.

City Of Richmond Plans To Take Down Statue Of Confederate General Robert E. Lee

Nearly 50 Confederate Memorials Removed, Renamed, And Relocated In 2021: Report

A crane hoisted a Confederate General Robert E. Lee statue off its pedestal in Charlottesville, Virginia, on Saturday morning nearly four years after its planned removal sparked the “Unite The Right” rally that erupted into violence and left one woman dead.
The Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-charlottesville-b2d4e50d0b1cc6f84a4c3aa8c2436ec0">reported</a>, “Because of litigation and changes to a state law dealing with war memorials, the city had been unable to act until now.” <a href="https://apnews.com/article/charlottesville-robert-e-lee-statue-removed-2efbc5e13b74e2545a0f6642e2384308?utm_source=Twitter&amp;utm_campaign=SocialFlow&amp;utm_medium=AP">According</a> to the AP, “dozens” of spectators lined the blocks surrounding the park, “and a cheer went up as the statue lifted off the pedestal.” There was “a visible police presence,” the report added.
“Taking down this statue is one small step closer to the goal of helping Charlottesville, Virginia, and America, grapple with the sin of being willing to destroy black people for economic gain,” said Charlottesville Mayor Nikuyah Walker, an Independent, in a speech before the removal.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
156 years after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House in Virginia, the Robert E. Lee statue has finally been removed in Charlottesville.<a href="https://t.co/FH9JQv7XvO">pic.twitter.com/FH9JQv7XvO</a>
&mdash; Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) <a href="https://twitter.com/keithboykin/status/1413837952992653318?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2021</a></blockquote>
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Shortly afterward, crews removed a statue of Confederate General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson nearby.
On Friday, city officials <a href="https://www.charlottesville.gov/civicalerts.aspx?AID=729">announced</a> the two bronze statues would come down on Saturday, but their stone bases would temporarily remain in place and removed at a later date. City Council had voted unanimously in June to remove both statues from public parks.
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The Stonewall Jackson statue has been removed from Court Square Park. <a href="https://t.co/5lK399Bx52">pic.twitter.com/5lK399Bx52</a>
&mdash; Charlottesville City (@CvilleCityHall) <a href="https://twitter.com/CvilleCityHall/status/1413863352493879299?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2021</a></blockquote>
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“City Council has the sole authority to determine the ultimate, final disposition of the statues,” the announcement said. “The City Manager is not authorized to destroy the statues or to sell them without further action by City Council. Both statues will be stored in a secure location on City property until City Council makes a final decision on disposition.”
City officials indicated they have reached out to museums, historical societies, and representatives from government and military battlefields that might be interested in acquiring the statues and have received 10 responses so far.
The removals come more than five years after Zyahna Bryant, then a freshman at Charlottesville High School, started a petition to rename Lee Park and remove the monument paying tribute to the general. In February 2017, the city council voted to take down the Lee statue.
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⁦<a href="https://twitter.com/ZyahnaB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ZyahnaB</a>⁩ started a petition to remove Confederate statues in 2016. Today she got to see that happen <a href="https://t.co/83IhX23Sfq">pic.twitter.com/83IhX23Sfq</a>
&mdash; Lisa Provence (@lisa_provence) <a href="https://twitter.com/lisa_provence/status/1413833482258853889?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2021</a></blockquote>
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A lawsuit was filed that force the city to put those plans on hold, however. The controversy escalated later that year when demonstrators on both sides of the issue converged on the town.
As The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/confederate-monuments-at-center-of-deadly-unite-the-right-rally-to-come-down">previously reported</a>:
<blockquote>In August 2017, far-right groups including white nationalists, neo-Nazis, and members of the Ku Klux Klan gathered for the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville. The event turned violent and then deadly when one protester rammed his car into a crowd of counterprotesters, killing one woman, Heather Heyer.
The rally was held to protest the removal of the city’s Confederate statues, which was proposed in the wake of another incident of racial violence, the 2015 church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina, where a white supremacist shot and killed nine black members of a congregation.</blockquote>
The Charlottesville rally became an ongoing controversy during former President Donald Trump’s term in office after he held a press conference in which he said there were “very fine people on both sides” as well as “blame on both sides.”
“I’m not talking about the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists, because they should be condemned, totally,” Trump added.
Trump later attempted to clarify his remarks, saying that he was “talking about people who went because they felt very strongly about the monument to Robert E. Lee, a great general.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/confederate-monuments-at-center-of-deadly-unite-the-right-rally-to-come-down">Confederate Monuments At Center Of Deadly ‘Unite The Right’ Rally To Come Down</a>

Gen. Robert E. Lee statue

Robert E. Lee Statue At Center Of ‘Unite The Right’ Rally Removed Nearly 4 Years Later

Charlottesville

Robert E. Lee

A commission created by Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser has recommended a slew of changes to public buildings in the district that includes scrubbing Thomas Jefferson’s name from schools and potentially removing the Washington Monument.
The District of Columbia Facilities and Commemorative Expressions (DCFACES) board submitted its <a href="https://mayor.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/mayormb/page_content/attachments/DC-FACES-Executive-Summary.pdf">recommendations</a> to Bowser on Monday, suggesting changes to monuments, memorials, and public spaces to better reflect “DC values.” Bowser assembled the committee in July to “review the legacy of namesakes of District assets.”
“This July, I tasked the DCFACES Working Group with evaluating public spaces to ensure the namesake&#8217;s legacy is consistent with #DCValues,” Bowser announced on Twitter on Tuesday. “They have delivered the report, and I look forward to reviewing and advancing their recommendations.”
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This July, I tasked the DCFACES Working Group with evaluating public spaces to ensure the namesake&#39;s legacy is consistent with <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DCValues?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DCValues</a>.
They have delivered the report, and I look forward to reviewing and advancing their recommendations.
Learn more: <a href="https://t.co/VpUZf4HcZB">https://t.co/VpUZf4HcZB</a> <a href="https://t.co/tj889EQmdD">pic.twitter.com/tj889EQmdD</a>
&mdash; Mayor Muriel Bowser (@MayorBowser) <a href="https://twitter.com/MayorBowser/status/1300849673272524805?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 1, 2020</a></blockquote>
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The DCFACES committee evaluated historical figures based on “key disqualifying histories, including participation in slavery, systemic racism, mistreatment of, or actions that suppressed equality for, persons of color, women and LGBTQ communities and violation of the DC Human Right [sic] Act,” according to the report’s executive summary.
The report targeted monuments, buildings, and parks that honor such figures as the author of the Star-Spangled Banner Francis Scott Key, U.S. Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, famed inventor Alexander Graham Bell, and the fifth U.S. President James Monroe.
The committee also targeted federal property and recommended that Bowser use her position on the National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission to push to “remove, relocate, or contextualize” the following national monuments:
<ul>
<li>Columbus Fountain</li>
<li>Benjamin Franklin Statue</li>
<li>Andrew Jackson Statue</li>
<li>Jefferson Memorial</li>
<li>George Mason Memorial</li>
<li>Newlands Memorial Fountain</li>
<li>Albert Pike Statue</li>
<li>Washington Monument</li>
<li>George Washington Statue</li>
</ul>
After a survey, town hall, and meetings with residents, the committee said that 80% of Washington residents support a push “to remove or rename assets where the namesake’s legacy was inconsistent with or did not align with the District’s core values of equity, opportunity, and prosperity.”
Bowser has already engaged in other public works projects catering to the Black Lives Matter movement since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on Memorial Day and the outbreak of massive protests and riots in major cities across the U.S. On June 5, Bowser had a giant “Black Lives Matter” slogan painted on 16th Street leading to the White House. She named the two-block section of street encompassing the mural <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/protesters-add-defund-the-police-to-black-lives-matter-painted-near-white-house">Black Lives Matter Plaza</a>.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/unhinged-manic-rage-trump-blasts-riots-roiling-d-c-and-says-mayor-should-be-ashamed-of-herself">President Donald Trump</a> has criticized Bowser in recent weeks for attempting to appease rioters instead of cracking down on violence that has at times gripped parts of the nation’s capital. On Thursday night after Trump’s speech on the last night of the Republican National Convention, angry crowds met GOP lawmakers and guests as they exited the White House. Protesters screamed obscenities at those leaving and, in several instances, got violent. One protester pushed a police officer into Sen. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-crazed-mob-assaults-police-officer-guarding-rand-paul-accosts-him-after-rnc-convention">Rand Paul</a> (R-KY) and his wife.
“Today’s Democrat Party is filled with hate,” Trump said the day after. “Just look at Joe Biden’s supporters on the streets, screaming and shouting at bystanders with unhinged, manic rage, right? You see it. It’s crazy. It’s crazy. You ought to see last night in Washington—it was a disgrace.”

Thomas Jefferson

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser Considering Proposal To Remove Thomas Jefferson, Other American Icons From Public Spaces

Founding Fathers

Muriel Bowser

Washington Monument

President Donald Trump threatened those who might topple federal monuments with a possible 10-year prison sentence Sunday morning, in an early Twitter thread.
The tweets echo the president&#8217;s executive order late last month, authorizing and encouraging federal law enforcement officials to seek the maximum penalty possible under the law for those protesters and rioters targeting monuments &#8212; a campaign that began with targeting monuments to key leaders of the Confederacy but has since expanded to include a number of the Founding Fathers, like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
&#8220;No, Radical Left anarchists, agitators, looters or protesters will not be knocking down or harming the Washington Monument, the Lincoln or Jefferson Memorials,&#8221; Trump tweeted Sunday. &#8220;If they even try, an automatic 10 years in prison. Sorry!&#8221;
Although Trump has claimed that he &#8220;authorized&#8221; federal law enforcement agencies to arrest and charge monument vandals through an executive order from June 26, 2020, the order simply reaffirms the government&#8217;s right to charge those who might seek to harm or topple Federal monuments under the Veteran&#8217;s Memorial Protection Act, passed in 2003 after a string of incidents at military cemeteries.
The order also directs federal authorities to seek the maximum possible penalty in such cases, which is a decade in federal prison.
&#8220;Whoever, in a circumstance described willfully injures or destroys or attempts to injure or destroy, any structure, plaque, statue, or other monuments on public property commemorating the service of any person or persons in the armed forces of the United States shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both,&#8221; that act reads in part.
The executive order came just one day before the Department of Justice announced that it had arrested and was seeking charges against four men who lead an effort to tear down a monument to Andrew Jackson in Washington, D.C.&#8217;s Lafayette Square, directly across from the White House.
The four men, the DOJ, said in a statement, tried to pry the statue off its base to make it easier for a group of anarchist demonstrators, camped outside the White House, to pull down with a rope system. Their efforts did not succeed, but they were captured on video and quickly apprehended.
The Trump administration has been aggressive in forcing states and cities to protect their existing monuments. Just last week, the president pledged to withhold federal funding for any state or city that turned a blind eye to the destruction of monuments.
&#8220;The new order enforces laws prohibiting the desecration of public monuments, the vandalism of government property, and recent acts of violence, withholds federal support tied to public spaces from state and local governments that have failed to protect public monuments, and withdraws federal grants for jurisdictions and law enforcement agencies that fail to stop their desecration,” <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-signs-executive-order-to-protect-american-monuments">Fox News reported last week</a>.

lafayette

Trump Threatens ‘10 Years In Prison’ For Anyone Who Harms Federal Monuments

Antifa

Donald Trump

Ahead of the Fourth of July weekend, President Donald Trump issued <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-building-rebuilding-monuments-american-heroes/">an executive order</a> that would create a new national park to display statues and monuments dedicated to “American Heroes,” including those that have been torn down by protesters in the past month.
The order lists specific criteria and examples of either names of potential persons to be honored or events from which historically significant persons may be honored, such as the “discovery of America” or the “abolition of slavery.” Neither the Confederacy nor the Civil War are mentioned in the order.
In the past month, statues of George Washington, Christopher Columbus, and even Abraham Lincoln have been destroyed, as well as monuments dedicated to abolitionists and Africa-American soldiers. It is these statues and monuments Trump said he wanted to restore and preserve.
“To destroy a monument is to desecrate our common inheritance.  In recent weeks, in the midst of protests across America, many monuments have been vandalized or destroyed.  Some local governments have responded by taking their monuments down.  Among others, monuments to Christopher Columbus, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Francis Scott Key, Ulysses S. Grant, leaders of the abolitionist movement, the first all-volunteer African-American regiment of the Union Army in the Civil War, and American soldiers killed in the First and Second World Wars have been vandalized, destroyed, or removed,” Trump’s order stated.
“These statues are not ours alone, to be discarded at the whim of those inflamed by fashionable political passions; they belong to generations that have come before us and to generations yet unborn.  My Administration will not abide an assault on our collective national memory.  In the face of such acts of destruction, it is our responsibility as Americans to stand strong against this violence, and to peacefully transmit our great national story to future generations through newly commissioned monuments to American heroes,” the order continued.
Trump created a task force to begin searching for a scenic location to build the “National Garden of American Heroes,” a national park that would display statues recreated from those that have been destroyed and highlight others who meet certain criteria. States and localities will also be able to loan statues and monuments to be displayed at the park.
Trump listed the names of some people who should be memorialized in the park, including some well-known conservative figures such as Billy Graham and Antonin Scalia.
“The National Garden should be composed of statues, including statues of John Adams, Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton, Daniel Boone, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Henry Clay, Davy Crockett, Frederick Douglass, Amelia Earhart, Benjamin Franklin, Billy Graham, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King, Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Douglas MacArthur, Dolley Madison, James Madison, Christa McAuliffe, Audie Murphy, George S. Patton, Jr., Ronald Reagan, Jackie Robinson, Betsy Ross, Antonin Scalia, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Harriet Tubman, Booker T. Washington, George Washington, and Orville and Wilbur Wright,” the order stated.
“Statues should depict historically significant Americans, as that term is defined in section 7 of this order, who have contributed positively to America throughout our history.  Examples include:  the Founding Fathers, those who fought for the abolition of slavery or participated in the underground railroad, heroes of the United States Armed Forces, recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor or Presidential Medal of Freedom, scientists and inventors, entrepreneurs, civil rights leaders, missionaries and religious leaders, pioneers and explorers, police officers and firefighters killed or injured in the line of duty, labor leaders, advocates for the poor and disadvantaged, opponents of national socialism or international socialism, former Presidents of the United States and other elected officials, judges and justices, astronauts, authors, intellectuals, artists, and teachers.  None will have lived perfect lives, but all will be worth honoring, remembering, and studying,” Trump added.
Priority will be given to “statues of the Founding Fathers, former Presidents of the United States, leading abolitionists, and individuals involved in the discovery of America.”
The Daily Wire, headed by bestselling author and popular podcast host Ben Shapiro, is a leading provider of conservative news, cutting through the mainstream media’s rhetoric to provide readers with the most important, relevant, and engaging stories of the day. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/subscribe"> member</a>.

George Washington statue

Trump Issues Executive Order To Rebuild Non-Confederate Monuments That Have Been Torn Down By Protesters

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