Andrew Jackson’s statue was saved by the law enforcement from being toppled by protesters on Monday night outside the White House in Lafayette Square.
Protesters defaced the statue in an attempt to pull it off its pedestal as they climbed on it and tied ropes around it.
Confirming the incident, the Interior Secretary, David L. Bernhardt, said that “The status was defaced by criminals who sought to topple the statue recognizing the seventh President of the United States. Law enforcement officers ensured that this would not happen.”
Bernhardt further said that the so-called peaceful protest had turned destructive that night, and said that the government would not bow to anarchists.
“Where another so called ‘peaceful protest’ led to destruction tonight. Let me be clear: we will not bow to anarchists. Law and order will prevail, and justice will be served,” he said.
A Park Police spokesperson said that protesters were prevented from destroying the statue by the joint efforts of The U.S. Park Police, Washington, D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department and the Secret Service.
In a Tweet by President Trump on Monday night, it was disclosed that several protesters were arrested in the process of trying to cause destruction while the tweet threatened at least 10 years of prison time for such a destructive act.
“Numerous people arrested in D.C. for the disgraceful vandalism, in Lafayette Park, of the magnificent Statue of Andrew Jackson, in addition to the exterior defacing of St. John’s Church across the street. 10 years in prison under the Veteran’s Memorial Preservation Act. Beware!” reads the tweet.
Andrew Jackson, the 7th US president, was a Tennessee slaveholder and had at least 150 slaves before his death according to the Hermitage.
According to Library of Congress, about 4,000 Cherokees lost their lives in the“Trail of Tears” march following the law signed by Jackson that forced Native Americans in the United States to relocate to the west of Mississippi River from the Southeastern United States.
