Via KTLA:
Six people were arrested after a statue of George Washington was toppled over and spray-painted near Los Angeles City Hall earlier this week, police said Saturday.
A small group was gathered for a protest in the downtown area near the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration building around 6:40 p.m. Thursday, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Social media posts indicate the demonstration was to speak out against colonialism and white supremacy, with flyers for the protest showing a photo of Mount Rushmore with “slave owners” written across it.
LAPD officers who responded to the protest saw “numerous people pulling on red ‘bands’ that were tied around the neck portion of the George Washington Statue in Grand Park,” LAPD said in a news release.
“Ultimately, the George Washington Statue broke from the base and fell to the ground,” police said. “The group, including the six people arrested, cheered and celebrated as others vandalized and spray painted the statue.”