Statue Teardowns Continue: Jesus, American Revolutionary Figures, and Columbus All Now Targeted

Workers remove Confederate General Robert E. Lee statue from the south mall of the University of Texas in Austin, Texas on Aug. 21, 2017. REUTERS/Stephen Spillman

The far-left push to tear down or deface historical statues and monuments is expanding beyond those of the Confederacy. Vandals and even local government officials have begun targeting statues of America’s founding fathers, Jesus, ancient historical figures, and figures from the Union who fought to end slavery.

Ohio state Rep. Wes Goodman posted a photo on Twitter on Aug. 25 showing a statue of Revolutionary War hero Col. William Crawford, located outside Ohio’s Crawford County Courthouse, that had been decapitated.

Goodman wrote, “The lawless attacks on our history must end!”

In New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio, who actively supported the Marxist Sandinistas in Nicaragua, announced on Aug. 23 that he had appointed a commission to conduct a 90-day review to recommend the removal of monuments on city property that fall under its definition of “symbols of hate.”

Among the statues de Blasio has on the table for removal are a 77-foot memorial of Christopher Columbus that was given to New York by Italian-Americans in 1892.

During an Aug. 24 rally against the removal of the Columbus statue, Staten Island Councilman Joe Borelli said the monument is “an icon of Italian-American culture.”

De Blasio is also allegedly considering the removal of a statue of former U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant, who was also a leading general who fought with the Union to end slavery during the Civil War.

Grant was the only known Republican who owned a slave when the Civil War started against the Democrat-led Confederacy. Yet, as New York Times bestselling author Dinesh D'Souza has pointed out, Grant owned the slave before he was a Republican and freed the slave in 1859, ahead of the Civil War.

Even Abraham Lincoln, the former Republican president who led the North to fight the Civil War to end slavery, has been a target for historical destruction. The Lincoln Memorial in Washington was vandalized on Aug. 15 with the phrase “f--- law,” and in August, a bust of Lincoln in Chicago was reportedly found defaced and burned.

On Aug. 21, a group of vandals filmed themselves smashing part of a 225-year-old monument of Christopher Columbus in Baltimore. A voice behind the camera narrates the destruction, stating, “Part of our evolution as humans requires tearing down monuments.” The individual equates the statues as representing “white supremacy” and “capitalism.”

Many of the far-left extremist organizations equate all forms of “capitalism” to “fascism” and hold strong ideologies based around identity politics that categorize and judge people according to their race. Among the main extremist groups is Antifa, which uses violence as a tool of suppression and intimidation. The organization originated from a 1920s Soviet Union program to label all rival political parties as “fascist.”

The 76-foot statue of Christopher Columbus, which was given to New York by Italian Americans in 1892, at Columbus Circle in Manhattan. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times