A statue of George Washington, the first president of the United States, was toppled and draped in a burning American flag by protesters in Portland, Oregon, on Thursday evening.
KOIN 6 reports: Thursday marked the 21st day of protests in Portland sparked by the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. Two groups — Rose City Justice and Lavender Caucus — hosted a sit-in rally at Jefferson High School in the evening where community members shared their experiences with racism to a crowd of a few hundred. The group did not hold a march.
A separate group of about 20 people met at NE Sandy Boulevard and NE 57th Avenue around 10 p.m. at the site of a large bronze statue of George Washington. Some wrapped the statue’s head in an American flag and lit the flag on fire. Their numbers grew over the next hour until there were enough people to pull the statue to the ground. They quickly scattered. A KOIN 6 News crew found the statue face down and covered in graffiti. Portland police arrived a short time later.
Another flag burning, this time on George Washington’s back. #Portlandprotest #statue #blacklivesmatter #PDXprotests #pdx #oregon #blm #acab #pdx #georgewashington #flagburning#StatuesMustFall pic.twitter.com/diSjnwO3IO
— Garrison Davis (Teargas Glutton) (@hungrybowtie) June 19, 2020
Statue of George Washington felled in Portland. pic.twitter.com/D05otcwHpX
— Tim Dickinson (@7im) June 19, 2020
Photos and video of the teardown were shared to Twitter by local reporters and citizen journalist Garrison Davis – READ MORE
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