President Donald Trump threatened lengthy prison sentences in a Tuesday tweet for anyone caught vandalizing or destroying federal monuments.
"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," he wrote in the early morning post.
His comments come as protestors nationwide have taken to defacing monuments dedicated to historical figures linked to racism, slavery, and colonialism.
What started as a movement targeting symbols of racism against African Americans, like monuments to Confederate soldiers and generals, has since forced the reckoning of other controversial figures in history, like Christopher Columbus, who annihilated indigenous populations in West Indies and kicked off the transatlantic slave trade.
Even obscure figures haven't been spared. The family of Josephus Daniels, a publisher and white supremacist credited with ushering in the Jim Crow era in North Carolina has removed a statue of him in Raleigh, according to the Raleigh News & Observer.
In Richmond, Virginia, police stepped in to thwart the efforts of protestors to topple a statue of Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart. Authorities declared the gathering an "unlawful assembly" and arrested several protestors.
In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio supported the American Museum of Natural History's decision to remove a statue of President Theodore Roosevelt. The statue depicts him atop a horse while he is flanked by a Black American and a Native American.
"The statue itself communicates a racial hierarchy that the Museum and members of the public have long found disturbing," a statement from the Museum reads.
Despite his recent defense of a statue of Christopher Columbus at Manhattan's Columbus Circle as a tribute not to Columbus' past but to the legacy of Italian Americans in New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo was also supportive of the Museum's actions. Mayor de Blasio charged his newly formed Racial Justice and Reconciliation Commission, which is headed by his wife Chirlane McCray, with determining the fate of other statues, including U.S. founding fathers Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, in and around the City Council's chambers.
Monday evening in Washington, DC, protesters attempted to topple a statue of President Andrew Jackson, who has been widely panned for his treatment of Native Americans. The move against the statue, located near the White House, precipitated Trump's tweets.
Prior to the early morning tweet, though, Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany had outlined the Trump Administration's take on protestors' actions, calling them "quite confusing."
"We're being told that George Washington's statue needs to come down, Thomas Jefferson's statue needs to come down," she said. "Where do you draw the line -- from Gandhi all the way to George Washington?"
Activists have argued the action is as much about creating a more nuanced narrative of history that also includes the experiences of black and indigenous people, as it is about recognizing the flaws of America's past that led up to its still unequal present.
Arguing for the removal of monuments to racist figures and the Confederacy is nothing new.
It tends to re-emerge in the aftermath of racism-fueled tragedies like the death of George Floyd and, previously, the 2015 Charleston Church Shooting. There are signs that slow, but incremental, progress has been made. The Southern Poverty Law Center reported that between the years of 2015 -- when a gunman opened fire in a historically Black church in South Carolina, killing nine -- and 2019, about 115 confederate monuments were removed nationwide. At the time, some 1,748 still stood.
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In a thrilling overtime finish, 23-year old NASCAR driver Austin Cindric clinched the 64th annual Daytona 500 win. Narrowly beating out legendary race car driver Bubba Wallace, Cindric earned his very first NASCAR cup series victory, and became the second youngest driver to win The Great American Race. Daytona 500 Champ Austin Cindric joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss his historic victory.
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To combat slumping ratings, the Academy Awards are undergoing a radical slimming down, with eight awards to be presented off-air during next month’s telecast.
Two Blackhawk helicopters crashed near a Utah ski resort Tuesday morning, forcing the closures on part of the mountain but leaving no crew members seriously hurt.
Equip is a virtual treatment platform for eating disorders, and recently raised $58 million in a Series B round led by The Chernin Group. The company aims to revolutionize treatment for eating disorders by delivering virtual care teams and clinical expertise directly to families' homes. Equip says the need for its platform has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Eating Disorder Association's helpline has had a 107% increase in contacts since the start of the pandemic. Kristina Saffran, CEO and co-founder of Equip, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
U.S. stocks ended today's session sharply lower on the heels of rising geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Melissa Brown, Managing Director of Applied Research at Qontigo, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Tonga's main internet connection to the rest of the world has finally been restored more than five weeks after a huge volcanic eruption and tsunami severed a crucial undersea cable.
As we celebrate Black History Month, Cheddar is highlighting prominent Black Americans who are carving their own historic paths and trailblazing in their fields. Today we feature athlete and activist Colin Kaepernick.
A just-released Harris Poll revealed that there are some differences of opinion among workers on returning to the office. The survey showed that 52 percent of women would still prefer to work from home versus 41 percent of men. The report also showed that 52 percent of black workers and 50 percent of women see it as being better when it comes to career advancement. Dr. Laura Morgan Roberts, professor of practice at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, joined Cheddar News to explain the report. "The first set of observations are about infrastructure and flexibility. The second are about inclusion," she said. "And so what we've learned from many non-white workers are that they appreciate the opportunity to focus more on their tasks and to be buffered in a sense from some of the hostilities and the exclusive environment and practice that they had to navigate for many years in their in-person offices."
