・Protesters in San Francisco tore down statues in Golden Gate Park on Friday ・Statues of Ulysses S. Grant and Francis Scott Key were vandalized, pulled down ・Grant, America's 18th president, was a Union general during the Civil War ・Key wrote words to America's national anthem, Star Spangled Banner ・Statue of Spanish writer Miguel De Cervantes was also vandalized ・Protesters have been removing statues of historical figures who owned slaves ・In Virginia, police arrested law enforcement official seen on roof of building ・Riley O'Shaughnessey, 38, of Richmond was spotted recording with cell phone ・He was standing on roof of building overlooking Robert E. Lee statue ・Lee statue has been site of massive protests since May 25 death of George Floyd
President Trump on Saturday hit out at vandals who have been tearing down statues of Confederate leaders and historical figures who once owned slaves amid protests triggered by the police-involved death of George Floyd.
'The unhinged left-wing mob is trying to vandalize our history, desecrate our monuments - our beautiful monuments - tear down our statues and punish, cancel and persecute anyone who does not conform to their demands for absolute and total control. We're not conforming,' Trump told cheering supporters in Tulsa.
The president made the comments a day after anti-racism protesters ripped down statues of Ulysses S. Grant and Francis Scott Key in San Francisco.
Also on Saturday, SWAT team officers arrested an armed man seen suspiciously recording people with his cell phone while on the roof of a building overlooking a statue of Robert E. Lee in Virginia.
In San Francisco's Golden Gate Park along the Pacific Ocean, protesters sprayed red paint and wrote 'slave owner' on pedestals before using ropes to bring down the statues and drag them down grassy slopes amid cheers and applause.
