Trump Signs Order To Punish Vandalism Against Monuments

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Protesters attempt to pull down Andrew Jackson's statue in Lafayette Square on June 22.Drew Angerer / Getty Images
Protesters attempt to pull down Andrew Jackson’s statue in Lafayette Square on June 22. Drew Angerer / Getty Images

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order on Friday to protect federal monuments following recent vandalism of statues memorializing the Confederacy and some of the nation’s Founding Fathers.

Trump announcing in a tweet wrote;

I just had the privilege of signing a very strong Executive Order protecting American Monuments, Memorials, and Statues – and combatting recent Criminal Violence. Long prison terms for these lawless acts against our Great Country!

The order follows a wave of civil unrest across America triggered by the killing of unarmed African American man George Floyd, who died after being choked by the neck by a white Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, who has now been fired and charged for murder.

Read Also: George Floyd: US Police Officers March, Kneel In Solidarity With Protesters

In some cities, protesters have pulled down or vandalized statues and memorials of historical figures, such as Confederate leaders who defended slavery.

The order would now reinforce existing federal law, which criminalizes the destruction of federal monuments.

For instance, the Veterans’ Memorials Preservation and Recognition Act of 2003 imposes a fine and up to 10 years in prison on anyone who vandalizes a monument.

The order states;

Individuals and organizations have the right to peacefully advocate for either the removal or the construction of any monument. But no individual or group has the right to damage, deface, or remove any monument by use of force.

It also threatens to withhold federal funding from state and local law enforcement agencies that ‘fail to protect monuments, memorials, and statues.’

In Washington, protesters have pulled down a statue of Confederate general Albert Pike, while others this week were unsuccessful in their attack on a statue of President Andrew Jackson, a slave owner, near the White House.

US National Park Service has since placed a barrier around the statue after police officers sprayed vandals with tear gas.

The White House said;

Those who have pulled down or defaced monuments seek nothing more than to destroy anything that honors our past and to erase from the public mind any suggestion that our past may be worth honoring.

George Washington, America’s first president, also became a target in which protests tore down his statue in Portland, Oregon, and defaced a different statue in Baltimore. A World War II monument was also vandalized in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Trump told reporters on Tuesday that he is looking to have stiff penalties for acts of vandalism against federal monuments.

He said;

We are looking at long-term jail sentences for these vandals and these hoodlums and these anarchists and agitators and call them whatever you want. Some people do not like that language, but that is what they are. They are bad people, they do not love our country, and they are not taking down our monuments.

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