Calls to Remove Confederate and Offensive Monuments Rebuffed by Trump

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The White House is visible behind a statue of President Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Park, Tuesday, June 23, 2020, in Washington, with the word "Killer" spray painted on its base. Protesters tried to topple the statue Monday night. President Tump had tweeted late Monday that those who tried to topple the statue of President Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Park across the street from the White House faced 10 years in prison under the Veteran's Memorial Preservation Act. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
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Protesters tried to topple a statue of Andrew Jackson today in Lafayette Square, Washington, DC. In response, President Trump cited a little known 2003 legislation and vowed anyone arrested for brining down statues will be met with a prison sentence up to 10 years.

Calls grow louder to remove statues deemed offensive in glorifying Confederate figures, proponents of slavery, and in Andrew Jackson’s case, those accused of genocide. April Ryan speaks with Congress member Barbara Lee (D-CA) who has introduced legislation to remove Confederate monuments from public view.

Click ▶️ to listen to AURN Washington Bureau Chief April Ryan’s White House Report:

The White House is visible behind a statue of President Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Park, Tuesday, June 23, 2020, in Washington, with the word “Killer” spray painted on its base. Protesters tried to topple the statue Monday night. President Tump had tweeted late Monday that those who tried to topple the statue of President Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Park across the street from the White House faced 10 years in prison under the Veteran’s Memorial Preservation Act. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
People gather at the Robert E. Lee Monument, now covered by protest graffiti, in Richmond, Va., Sunday, June 7, 2020, following a week of unrest in the U.S. against police brutality and racism in policing. The statue of the Confederate Civil War general is slated for removal at the order of Gov. Ralph Northam. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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