The charges, the first brought in federal court, come after President Donald Trump promised an offensive against those trying to overthrow or deface the monuments of Confederate war heroes and US presidents with poor records of civil rights, a trend that has emerged in cities around the world. country since George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis police custody.
Trump, who said he ruled out plans to travel to his New Jersey golf club this weekend to make sure “LAW AND ORDER” was followed in the capital, tweeted on Saturday the posters of people the Park Police of The US believes they were responsible for the destruction in the Downtown Park. He later tweeted the details of the Justice Department announcement.
On Friday, Trump signed an executive order aimed at protecting monuments and statues, making the issue a priority for the Justice Department.
“I just had the privilege of signing a very strong Executive Order that protects the Monuments, Monuments and Statues of the United States, and fights recent criminal violence,” Trump announced on Twitter. “Long prison terms for these illegal acts against our Great Country.”
Trump has long ridiculed, and rejected, efforts to tear down monuments, often calling them “fools.”
“I think a lot of the people who are knocking down the statues don’t even have a clue what the statue is, what it means, who it is when they were knocked down,” Trump said during a press conference on Wednesday. “Now they are looking at Jesus Christ, they are looking at George Washington, they are looking at Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson. It’s not going to happen, it’s not going to happen while I’m here. “
