Per local NBC News newsroom NBC 12, a statue of Christopher Columbus was torn down by protesters in downtown Richmond on Tuesday night.
According to NBC 12, the incident occurred at around 9pm, following a peaceful demonstration in solidarity with indigenous people outside of the statue. It was ripped from its foundation, spray painted and set on fire, before subsequently being thrown in the lake.
Per WTVR, one woman who has lived in Richmond for 26 years hailed the moment as a sign of change for the city;
“I think it’s phenomenal," Maureen Stinger said. "I know some people have a lot of emotional attachment to some of these monuments, but I believe with them coming down, that is one very strong step toward more unity within the city. And I think that can only be a good thing.”
WTVR reports that the statue has been spray-painted before - in 2015 the words "lies" and "genocide" were painted on it.
ABC 8 News reporter Sierra Fox wrote on Twitter;
"COLUMBUS STATUE TORN DOWN: Protestors then threw into the Landing at Fountain Lake in Richmond. One protestor told me they used 3 ropes to tear it down. They said, 'I love the city, but there are too many reminders of racism.' Full report tonight at 11 pm. #StayTuned"
In a 2015 article for the Washington Post, Kris Lane, professor of colonial Latin American history at Tulane University wrote of Columbus;
"He definitely saw profit in enslaving and selling native peoples kidnapped from Caribbean shores. Once he made allies among what he called 'good Indians,' Columbus advocated fighting and enslaving native groups he presumed to be cannibals"
Meanwhile, Black Lives Matter protesters toppled a statue of 17th-century slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol, England over the weekend. Citizens had been calling for the removal of the statue, with a petition to Bristol City Council gathering more than 100,000 signatures.