Juneteenth is the official day of Independence for all Americans but there were still 4th of July activities happening across the countries. As many grilled glizzys (word to the DMV), and others lit up fireworks, protesters in Baltimore made it abundantly clear that they will not be waiting for city officials to remove the statue of Christopher Columbus in the city's Little Italy area.
CNN reports that a group of protesters in Baltimore tore down the statue of Columbus before dragging it into the Inner Harbor. A video emerged online last night after Louis Krauss shared the video onto social media. Krauss said there was roughly 300 people at the scene when the statue was taken down. "After it toppled over the statue broke into several pieces, which were then dragged across the plaza and dumped into the Inner Harbor," Krauss said.
This arrives weeks after Donald Trump signed off on an executive order demanding the DOJ to prosecute anyone involved in the tearing down of these controversial monuments. Trump urged the Department of Justice to prosecute these protesters "to the fullest extent permitted under Federal law."
Over the past few weeks, city officials from across the country have ordered the removal of statues of controversial figures in American history with racist backgrounds.