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A statue of America’s first president was torn down in California late Thursday, according to video footage, photographs, and police officials.
The statue of George Washington stood in the neighborhood of Grand Park, on Hill Street.
Seven people were arrested, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) police officials told news outlets.
The LAPD didn’t respond to an inquiry seeking more information.
Video footage and pictures on social media showed the statue lying on the ground, completely ripped down from its pedestal. One of the videos had the hashtag “BlackLivesMatter.”
The lifesize bronze figure shows Washington, a legendary Revolutionary War military leader who became the United States’ first president, in military uniform.
It is a copy of an original granite sculpture crafted by French Jean-Antoine Houdon, according to the聽Los Angeles Department of Arts and Culture.
The original was shipped and installed in the Virginia State Capitol after being created in Paris in 1796. With permission from the Virginia General Assembly, approximately 30 copies of the statue were made. One copy was acquired聽in 1933 by the Women鈥檚 Community Service, an auxiliary of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, and presented to the county on Feb. 22, 1933, the birthday of Washington.
It’s at least the second statue of Washington to be toppled in the wake of George Floyd’s death on Memorial Day.
Vandals in Portland tore down a Washington statue in mid-June.
Activists, some of whom are linked to the Black Lives Matter movement, have sought to take down statues and memorials they argue commemorate racist figures. Washington owned some slaves.
Focus News: George Washington Statue Toppled, 7 Arrested