Trump wants ‘animal Antifa radicals’ who toppled Abraham Lincoln statue jailed as Portland culprits could face 10 years
DONALD Trump said he wants "animal Antifa radicals" who toppled an Abraham Lincoln statue to be jailed as the Portland culprits could face 10 years in prison.
Protesters overturned statues of former Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln in , on Sunday night in a declaration of "rage" toward Columbus Day.
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As videos emerged on social media, the president called for "law and order" in a series of Monday morning .
"The Radical Left fools in don’t want any help from real Law Enforcement which we will provide instantaneously. Vote!" he said, before slamming his presidential rival.
"Put these animals in jail, now. The Radical Left only knows how to take advantage of very dumb “leadership” fools. This is ! Law & Order!"
Trump went on to claim that the protesters were "taking advantage of foots," before slamming them as "ANTIFA RADICALS" and ordering the "Feds" and "" to "get them now."
The president concluded his rant, writing: "The FBI and Law Enforcement must focus their energy on ANTIFA and the Radical Left, those who have spent the summer trying to burn down poorly run Cities throughout the !"
Protest organizers dubbed the event “Indigenous Peoples Day of Rage,” in response to Monday's federal holiday named after 15th-century Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, a polarizing figure who Native American advocates have said spurred centuries of genocide against indigenous populations in the Americas.
The group threw chains around Roosevelt’s statue, officially titled "Theodore Roosevelt, Rough Rider." They threw red paint on the monument and began using a blowtorch on the statue’s base, news outlets reported.
The crowd pulled down the statue just before 9pm. The group later turned their attention toward Lincoln's statue, pulling it down about eight minutes later.
Historians have said Roosevelt expressed hostility toward Native Americans, once saying: "I don’t go so far as to think that the only good Indians are dead Indians, but I believe nine out of every 10 are …"
Protesters spray-painted “Dakota 38” on the base of Lincoln's statue, referencing the 38 Dakota men Lincoln approved to have hanged after the men were involved in a violent conflict with white settlers in .
After toppling the statues, the crowd began smashing windows at the Oregon Historical Society and later moved onto the Portland State University Campus Public Safety office.
later declared the event a riot and ordered the group to disperse.
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Cops said anyone involved in “criminal behavior, including vandalism” was subject to arrest. It’s unclear if any arrests were made.
Trump signed an executive order in June to protect monuments, memorials and statues, authorizing a penalty of up to 10 years in prison for the "willful injury" of federal property.
The monuments are the latest statues to come down in a wave of removed monuments and protests sparked by the May 25 death of in police custody.