- President Donald Trump signs “very strong” order to punish those who damage monuments.
- Trump’s order stipulates up to 10 years in prison for anyone who attacks monuments.
- Since George Floyd’s murder, several moments have been shot down by protesters, something that Trump has strongly condemned.
He President Donald Trump signed an order Friday to protect the monuments, memorials and statues after they were the target of attacks amid racial protests in the country and punishes those responsible with “long prison terms”.
“I have just had the privilege of signing a very strong Executive Order that protects Monuments, Memorials and Statues and combats recent Criminal Violence. Long prison terms for these illegal acts against our Great Country! ”Tump announced on his Twitter account.
The executive order states that the federal government will ensure that anyone who attacks monuments is prosecuted and faces penalties of up to 10 years in prison. The order also states that federal security forces will intervene to protect the monuments when local authorities fail to do so, reported Eph.
Trump warned on Tuesday of prison terms, assured that he had authorized the arrest of “anyone who vandalizes or destroys any monument, statue or other federal property in the United States” and threatened to apply the “Veterans Memorial Preservation Act or any other legislation that may be relevant ”.
Amid the effervescence of the protests that swept the country after the death, at the hands of a white police officer, of the African American George Floyd, on May 25, the statues of historical figures have been victims of attacks and even removed by the crowd , something Trump has harshly criticized.
The main objective of the protesters have been the Confederate symbols – defenders of slavery during the Civil War – which abound especially in the southern states, but statues of the Spanish conquerors or of the “founding fathers” of States have also been attacked United.
Even on June 22, federal police prevented protesters from charging at the statue of former President Andrew Jackson (1829-1837), located a few meters from the White House, in Lafayette Park, which has been the epicenter of racial protests in Washington for its location, just across from the President’s residence.
The police intervention prevented the statue in which Jackson appears mounted on a horse that stands on its two hind legs, from being knocked down, since the protesters had already put ropes and chains to remove it from the place.
The racial mobilizations have also given way to measures taken by local authorities, as in the case of the towns of Newark and Camden, in the state of New Jersey, to remove some statues from public places.
Just this Friday, a statue of Christopher Columbus was removed from a park in Newark, since, according to its mayor, Ras Baraka, it represents a “symbol of oppression and white supremacism.”
While Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s order to remove the monument to General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederacy’s armies in the American Civil War (1861-1865), came at the hands of a judge, who the On June 9, the measure was suspended for ten days.
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