The National Guard has finally been sent in. It’s a start, but it should have happened earlier to protect national monuments from America-hating anarchists. A recent poll shows that 32% of Americans want Confederate statues taken down, the majority of those who hold that opinion are on the left. This isn’t about Confederate statues anymore, though. Anarchists are targeting all statues & monuments, from those of George Washington & Abraham Lincoln to other historical figures who actually fought on the side of the Union to free the slaves. Those who hate America want to destroy anything that has to do with its history. Those who destroy historical monuments should face the full brunt of the law.
“Hundreds of troops with the Washington, D.C., National Guard have mobilized to protect monuments in the nation’s capital, a Pentagon spokesperson has confirmed.
Interior Secretary David Bernhardt requested the action earlier this week, as protesters target statues and other historical markers during ongoing demonstrations in the wake of George Floyd’s police custody death in Minneapolis at the end of May.
The Pentagon confirmed that roughly 400 D.C. Guard members have been activated and are on standby.
“Since their activation, none of the National Guard members have been dispatched to actual monument locations to provide assistance to the NPP,” Pentagon spokesperson Lt. Col. Christian Mitchell said in a statement. “They remain on standby at the DC Armory at this time. They will support U.S. Park Police at key monuments to prevent any defacing or destruction.”
Mitchell noted that the National Guard members are unarmed and “will serve as a uniformed deterrence” and in a “crowd management capacity.”
Protesters on Monday attempted to tear down a statue of Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Square by the White House, and defaced it with the phrase “killer scum,” Reuters reported. Bernhardt said afterward that he visited Lafayette Square and witnessed the destruction. He said the country “will not bow to anarchists,” and that “law and order will prevail, and justice will be served.”
The Lincoln Memorial and WWII Memorial were also defaced in earlier protests.
During a protest on Tuesday that took place in front of D.C.’s Emancipation Memorial, one demonstrator announced that on Thursday they would tear down the memorial’s statue of Abraham Lincoln standing over a freed slave.
President Trump warned Tuesday morning that anyone caught vandalizing monuments or any other federal property would be subject to arrest and face up to 10 years in prison under federal law.
“I have authorized the Federal Government to arrest anyone who vandalizes or destroys any monument, statue or other such Federal property in the U.S. with up to 10 years in prison, per the Veteran’s Memorial Preservation Act, or such other laws that may be pertinent…..
…..This action is taken effective immediately, but may also be used retroactively for destruction or vandalism already caused. There will be no exceptions!”
…..This action is taken effective immediately, but may also be used retroactively for destruction or vandalism already caused. There will be no exceptions!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 23, 2020
D.C. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, meanwhile, announced a more formal measure against the Emancipation Memorial, stating that she will introduce a bill calling for the statue to be removed from its home in Lincoln Park and placed in a museum.”
The left-wing mob presents a serious threat to the American way of life. They won’t stop at statues. They've already torched police precincts, low-income housing, and churches.
This violence against people and property cannot go unpunished. https://t.co/EhtGC9l3Dp
— Kevin McCarthy (@GOPLeader) June 24, 2020
Jeff Rainforth is the photographer & news editor for Airman Kolfage’s We Build the Wall, Inc.
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