Kansas City Police Arrest 2 for Andrew Jackson Statue Damage
Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2020 11:31 am
FILE - Protesters attach a chain to the statue of President Andrew Jackson to pull down in the middle of Lafayette Park outside the White House as someone throws a roll of toilet paper during racial inequality protests in Washington, D.C., June 22, 2020.
KANSAS CITY, MO. - Police in Kansas City have arrested two men suspected of vandalizing a downtown statue of Andrew Jackson during a protest.
Officers were called to the Jackson County Courthouse around 5:30 p.m. for a report of people defacing the statue that stands outside the steps of the courthouse, police said. Jackson County is named for the 19th century U.S. president.
The statue had been spray-painted with expletives and the words "Slave Owner," and police said responding officers saw the two men they believed were responsible from a distance. Police did not give the names of the men arrested, but said both men were 25.
The defacing of the Kansas City statue comes as protesters across the nation have defaced and torn down statues of historic figures during recent demonstrations against racial injustice.
Following the incident, Jackson County Executive Frank White issued a written statement calling for the removal of the Jackson statue, as well as an identical one that stands outside the courthouse in Independence.