MEAWW.COM / NEWS / HUMAN INTEREST

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot gets Christopher Columbus statue removed from city park days after clashes

Teams arrived around 1 am to take down the statue as some people gathered around and cheered during the process

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, on Friday, July 24, ordered the removal of a controversial Christopher Columbus statue from the city's Grant Park amid tense clashes between police and protesters in the region. Reports state that teams arrived at around 1 am to take down the statue as a few people gathered around and cheered during the process. It is not yet clear where the statue will be taken.

The mayor's decision to remove the statue was in contrast to her earlier stance where she opposed its removal, stating that it would erase the history of Columbus. Lightfoot, earlier, had also shunned calls to rename the Columbus Day holiday amid rampant widespread protests in the country against racism and glorification of racist figures in history.

The move comes just hours after hundreds of protesters had gathered outside Lightfoot's home in the Logan Square neighborhood. After the mayor took a call, demonstrators were informed of the decision by an activist with a megaphone. Demonstrators and law enforcement, a week before, had clashed over the monument after the former vandalized and attempted to bring down the statue. Protesters were pictured throwing fireworks and objects at the officers surrounding the statue before the cops retaliated with tear gas and other measures.

Reports state that at least 20 complaints of police brutality were filed against Chicago cops after the incident. President Donald Trump, in a statement on Wednesday, July 22, had also criticized the crime rate in Chicago, saying he would send federal law enforcement officers to the city. Lightfoot, however, urged Trump to not send federal agents in a letter, saying it would make the region less safe.

“Any other form or militarized assistance within our borders that would not be within our control or within the direct command of the Chicago Police Department would spell disaster,” the mayor, in her letter, wrote. “In the end, we very much want to partner with an executive branch that respects our city, inclusive of all our residents. Partnership includes respect that you have not shown our residents as of late in mocking the level of violence that challenges Chicagoans."

Her letter came days after Lightfoot, on July 16, slammed White House press secretary Kaleigh McEnany, and called her a "Karen" for saying that she was a "derelict mayor." Lightfoot's remarks were in response to McEnany's statement, who while answering reporters' questions during a press briefing, made damning comments about the Chicago mayor, and accused her of "doing a very poor job securing her streets."

McEnany also said she believed Lightfoot should seek federal assistance in curbing a recent spike in violence in her city. The mayor, however, hit out at the press secretary, telling her to "watch her mouth". McEnany's comments were reportedly brought to Mayor Lightfoot's attention through a tweet from Brian Bennett, Senior White House Correspondent for Time Magazine.

The White House press secretary, during a press briefing, referred to Lightfoot twice, slamming the mayor both times for failing to curb violence in Chicago. When McEnany was suggested that the president's full attention is not in the current coronavirus pandemic in the country, she responded with: "There are other things the president has to focus on — namely the Democratic cities not taking control of their streets, namely the mayor of Chicago who has people dying on the streets of her city every weekend. The president sent her a letter saying 'you must secure your city'."