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U.S. NEWS Thursday 11 June 2020

A statue of Christopher Columbus is in the water at Byrd Park
in Richmond, Va. Tuesday, June 9, 2020, after it was torn
down by protesters.
Associated Press
Richmond protesters

In this Jan. 4, 2020, file photo a sign for at Fort Bragg, N.C., is shown. topple Columbus
Associated Press
Trump: No change at bases named for statue, throw it in lake

Confederate officers RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A her speech. "We have to
statue of Christopher Co-
start with the people who
lumbus in Richmond was stood first on this land."
By ROBERT BURNS and the Marine Corps are now banning torn down by protest- The Columbus statue was
AP National Security Writer public displays of the Confederate Army ers, set on fire and then dedicated in Richmond
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald battle flag on their installations, casting thrown into a lake. in December 1927, and
Trump on Wednesday said his administra- their decision as necessary to preserve co- The figure was toppled had been the first statue
tion will "not even consider" changing the hesion within the ranks. less than two hours after of Christopher Columbus
name of any of the 10 Army bases that Ten major Army installations are named for protesters gathered in erected in the South, the
are named for Confederate Army officers. Confederate Army officers, mostly senior the city's Byrd Park were newspaper reported. Its
Two days earlier, Defense Secretary Mark generals, including Robert E. Lee. Among chanting for the statue toppling comes amid
Esper indicated that he was open to a the 10 is Fort Benning, the namesake of to be taken down, news national protests over
broad discussion of such changes. "These Confederate Army Gen. Henry L. Benning, outlets reported. the death of George
Monumental and very Powerful Bases who was a leader of Georgia's secessionist After the figure was re- Floyd and several days
have become part of a Great American movement and an advocate of preserv- moved from its pedestal after a statue of Con-
Heritage, a history of Winning, Victory, ing slavery. Others are in Virginia, North around 8:30 p.m. Tues- federate Gen. Williams
and Freedom," Trump wrote. "The United Carolina, Alabama, Texas and Louisiana. day by protesters using Carter Wickham was
States of America trained and deployed The naming was done mostly after World several ropes, a sign that pulled from its pedestal
our HEROES on these Hallowed Grounds, War I and in the 1940s, in some cases as reads, "Columbus rep- in Monroe Park by dem-
and won two World Wars. Therefore, my gestures of conciliation to the South. resents genocide" was onstrators who also used
Administration will not even consider the Few voices in the military are openly de- placed on the spray- ropes to tear it down.
renaming of these Magnificent and Fa- fending the link to Confederate symbols, painted foundation that And Richmond was not
bled Military Installations." Name changes but some of the bases named for Confed- once held the statue. It the only place where a
have not been proposed by the Army or erate officers are legendary in their own was then set on fire and statue of Columbus has
the Pentagon, but on Monday, Esper and right. Fort Bragg, for example, is home to rolled into a lake in the been targeted. In Boston,
Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy indicated some of the Army's most elite forces. Any park, NBC 12 reported. a statue of Columbus in
in response to questions from reporters decision to change the name at Bragg or There was no police pres- Boston was beheaded.
that they were "open to a bipartisan dis- other bases likely would involve consulting ence in the park, but a The head of the statue
cussion" of renaming bases such as Fort with officials from the affected states and police helicopter was located in a waterfront
Bragg in North Carolina and Fort Benning localities. Paul Eaton, a retired two-star seen circling the area af- park near the city's tradi-
in Georgia. Army general and a former commanding ter the city-owned figure tionally Italian North End
Supporters of disassociating military bases general of Fort Benning, said Trump's state- was torn down, the Rich- was found on the ground
from Confederate Army officers argue that ments go against ideals the Army stands mond Times-Dispatch re- early Wednesday morn-
they represent the racism and divisiveness for. "Today, Donald Trump made it official. ported. The city's parks ing, according to broad-
of the Civil War era and glorify men who Rather than move this nation further away department did not im- cast reports. Police were
fought against the United States. from institutionalized racism, he believes mediately respond to a investigating and there
To amplify Trump's view, his press secre- we should cling to it and its heritage, by request for comment on was no word on any ar-
tary, Kayleigh McEnany, read his tweets keeping the names of racist traitors on the the fallen statue from The rests. The Boston statue
to reporters in the White House briefing gates of our military bases," Eaton said. Associated Press. Earlier has been vandalized in
room. She said he is "fervently" opposed "Most serving soldiers know little about the during the day, Activist the past. Native Ameri-
to changing the base names and believes history behind the Confederate leaders for Chelsea Higgs-Wise and can advocates have also
that doing so would amount to "complete whom these bases are named, or the po- other protesters spoke long pressed states to
disrespect" for soldiers who trained there litical deals that caused them to be hon- to a crowd gathered at change Columbus Day
over the years. The U.S. military recently ored in this fashion," he said. "There might Byrd Park about the strug- to Indigenous Peoples
began rethinking its traditional connec- be some pushback from a small segment gles of indigenous people Day over concerns that
tion to Confederate Army symbols, includ- of soldiers from the South, but this is what and African-Americans Columbus spurred centu-
ing the Army base names, mindful of their we like to call a 'teachable moment.' Now in America. "We have to ries of genocide against
divisiveness at a time the nation is wrestling is the time to finally bring about a change start where it all began," indigenous populations in
with questions of race after the death of that will speak volumes as to what the U.S. Higgs-Wise said during the Americas.q
George Floyd in police hands. The Navy Army stands for." q