Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot vows to take down Columbus statue despite objections from Italian American community as protesters gather at her home to demand she defunds the police
Protesters gathered outside the Chicago mayor's house Thursday night as she vowed to take down the city's Christopher Columbus statues - a move critics blasted as bowing to 'violent nihilists' and Italian-Americans branded a 'betrayal'.
Thousands of Black Lives Matter demonstrators took to the streets to march on Mayor Lori Lightfoot's house as night fell, demanding she defund the Chicago Police Department and turf federal agents out of the city, as tensions over racism and police brutality continue to mount.
Chants turned from 'f*** CPD' to cheers of elation when someone announced over the microphone that the city is planning to take the controversial Columbus monuments down from Grant Park and Little Italy.
This comes as demonstrators geared up for federal agents swooping in after President Trump vowed to send in the troops in the wake of a wave of violent crime that has rocked the third largest US city in recent weeks.
Trump threatened to send up to 60,000 federal troops on to the streets of America in an interview with Sean Hannity Thursday night, as he branded Portland protesters 'anarchists' and the city's mayor 'pathetic'.
Officials in Portland are also pushing back against the federal agents, with a judge granting a temporary restraining order Thursday, banning them from arresting legal observers and journalists at protests while protesters gathered outside the courthouse chanting 'hands up please don't shoot'.
Trump's law and order takeover has now extended to Seattle as authorities announced a Special Response Team was being drafted in to stand by for duty in the city, despite local officials saying they are not welcome there.
A huge crowd of protesters cheered in celebration Thursday night (pictured) as Chicago announced plans to topple its Christopher Columbus statue
Protesters gathered at the intersection near Lightfoot's home before they learned the statue was to come down
Around 2,000 people were gathered in the area near the mayor's home in Logan Square Thursday night
Thousands of Black Lives Matter demonstrators took to the streets to march on Mayor Lori Lightfoot's house as night fell
Screams and cheers fill the air and protesters are seen jumping in the air in celebration as someone announces the statue will be taken down
The controversial statue of Christopher Columbus (pictured) in Grant Park - which was the scene of violent clashes between protesters and law enforcement last week
More than 2,000 protesters blocked an intersection outside Mayor Lightfoot's home Thursday night, waving banners reading 'Black Lives Matter' and 'No justice no peace' while there was no sign of federal agents as darkness fell on the peaceful crowd.
Footage taken soon after 8:30 p.m. local time shows the moment a protester announced that the Columbus statue is to be taken down from Grant Park in the city.
'I just so happen to find out right now that Lori Lightfoot plans to remove the Christopher Columbus statue,' a man said into a loudspeaker.
Screams and cheers fill the air and protesters are seen jumping up and down in celebration.
Sources said the controversial monument in Grant Park could be taken down as soon as Thursday night, as the mayor is looking to avoid a repeat of the clashes witnessed between cops and protesters last week, reported the Chicago Tribune.
But as of 2a.m. the statue - as well as the figure in Little Italy - was still standing and was covered in tarp and being protected by fencing and a large police presence.
There was no sign of federal agents as darkness fell on the peaceful crowd of Black Lives Matter demonstrators
Police in riot gear gather in the streets of the city Thursday night before news of the removal of the statue spread
Protesters gathered demanding the mayor defund the Chicago Police Department, as tensions over racism and police brutality continue to mount
Chants turned from 'f*** CPD' to cheers of elation when someone announced over the microphone that the city is taking the controversial Columbus monument down
News of the statues' removal sparked yet more divides across the city, with protesters happy with the decision heading to Grant Park in the hope of watching the historic moment take place.
They were met by counter-protesters, including Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara, who were outraged at the decision.
Catanzara was pictured turning up to the Columbus statue following the announcement wearing an Italia Jacket and slamming Lightfoot as a 'coward'.
SuperPAC spokesman Steve Cortes also condemned the move on social media, calling the mayor 'feckless' and accusing her of giving in to 'violent nihilists'.
'My Chicago Police sources confirm that our magnificent Christopher Columbus statue will be removed tonight from Grant Park, in the dead of night. Our feckless mayor concedes to the violent nihilists,' he tweeted.
Several Italian-American leaders in Chicago said the community was unhappy with the decision.
Chicago Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara was pictured turning up to the Columbus Statue following the announcement wearing an Italia Jacket and slamming Lgihtfoot a 'coward'
SuperPAC spokesman Steve Cortes also condemned the move on social media, slamming Lightfoot as 'feckless' and giving in to 'violent nihilists'
Chicago's Mayor Lori Lightfoot was slammed by the Italian-American community over the move with some saying they felt 'betrayed'
The figure of the colonial explorer - who is seen as a figure of white supremacy - was the center of violent scenes Friday night (pictured)
Police walk around at the site of the covered Columbus statue after protesters attempted to topple it Friday. Police were guarding the monument when they were hit with fireworks, authorities said
Gianni Pasquale of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans blasted it a betrayal to the Italian-American community for many of whom Columbus is a symbolic figure.
'The Italian American community feels betrayed. The Mayor's Office is giving into a vocal and destructive minority. This is not how the Democratic process is supposed to work,' he said.
The figure of the colonial explorer in Grant Park - who is seen as a figure of white supremacy - was the center of violent scenes Friday night.
Cops unleashed tear gas on protesters and several were left injured after they attempted to tear down the statue of Columbus in Grant Park.
At least 20 complaints of police brutality were filed against officers following the night's events, with one activist Miracle Boyd saying she had one of her teeth knocked out by a cop when they smacked her in the face.
Days later, Chicago police released a shocking video showing protesters aiming fireworks and frozen water bottles at officers and announced 49 officers had been injured by 'criminal agitators' in the commotion.
Lightfoot said in June she was opposed to removing the statue in Grant Park as well as one in Little Italy.
Mothers sporting yellow t-shirts and bike helmets protest against racial inequality and police violence in Portland Thursday night
The standoff between demonstrators and federal agents dragged on another night Thursday in Portland, Oregon
The 'Wall of Moms' gathered again Thursday night in their signature yellow t-shirts linking arms to protect demonstrators against federal agents
This comes as Donald Trump called the Portland protesters 'anarchists' and praised agents for doing a 'great job' since they were deployed to the city in an interview with Sean Hannity Thursday night
The 'Wall of Moms' makes its way past the Mark O. Hatfield federal courthouse Thursday
She also previously said she wouldn't support changing the public holiday Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day.
A small crowd also gathered around the Columbus statue in Little Italy Thursday night following the news it is coming down.
Sergio Giangrande, president of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans, told ABC7 Italian-Americans were 'very hurt' by the revelation.
'Columbus is a symbol of hope we've all celebrated for years. Maybe we all forgot why we celebrate Christopher Columbus, and to take somebody who's a symbol of hope from us, we're not OK with that,' he said.
'We're also not OK with police officers getting hurt, so if the mayor feels that this will prevent police officers from being hurt, then this is our contribution.
'We don't want any more lives hurt, but we cannot forget that we as Italian Americans, this is our symbol of our hope. And we cannot be a target. We've also been discriminated against, and that's one of the reasons we look at and we celebrate that we've overcome that.'
Trump said he had to send in feds to Portland because they 'were going wild for 51 days and we went in and they've done a great job'
Protesters held banners demanding an end to racism and police brutality. The protests were sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis
Protestors in front of the Multnomah Country Justice Center including one person waving an American flag
A federal judge Thursday banned federal agents from arresting or using physical force against journalists and legal observers at the ongoing Portland protests
A large crowd of demonstrators were out again in the city Thursday night, chanting and holding signs near the federal courthouse
Portland protesters and officials have been calling on the federal agents to leave their city
Hundreds gathered in Portland for another night of protests Thursday waving banners and peace signs
Earlier Thursday night, protesters in Chicago were seen dancing and singing to a version of the YMCA with the words changed to 'f*** CPD'.
There was no sign of federal agents in the streets, despite Trump's claims he was deploying 300 officers to the city this week.
His threats came as the Windy City has been ravaged by escalating crime in recent weeks, including a shootout at a funeral home on Tuesday where 15 people were shot.
The president warned he will 'go into all of the cities' and will put in 60,000 troops on the nation's streets in an interview with Sean Hannity Thursday night.
'We'll go into all of the cities, any of the cities. We're ready. We'll put in 50,000, 60,000 people that really know what they're doing,' Trump said.
'And they're strong. They're tough and we can solve those problems so fast.'
Trump hit out at Portland where the standoff between demonstrators and federal agents dragged on another night Thursday.
A large crowd of demonstrators were out again in the city, chanting and holding signs near the federal courthouse.
The 'Wall of Moms' sported their signature yellow t-shirts and bike helmets to gather in support of Black Lives Matter another night.
Footage taken by Portland Tribune shows a sea of peaceful protesters singing 'hands up please don’t shoot me' while they held their phones aloft shining torches into the sky.
Riot Ribs feeds the crowd in the Chinook Land Autonomous Territory. The food merchant set up to feed the peaceful protesters in Portland
The Wall of Moms makes its way past the Mark O. Hatfield federal courthouse - which has been the site of protests this week
Defensive materials donated by the public are laid out for protestors ahead the Wall of Moms rally
A speaker leads the crowd in chants in front of the Multnomah County Justice Center earlier Thursday
Reverend Lenny Duncan listens to speakers outside the Multnomah County Justice Center earlier in the day Thursday
A woman holds up a banner showing gruesome injuries and wounds amid calls to defund the Portland police
Protesters hold up banners reading 'Black Lives Matter' earlier in the day as rallies have continued for almost two months
Trump called the Portland protesters 'anarchists' and praised his agents for doing a 'great job' since they were deployed to the city.
'In Portland we had to go in as they're anarchists,' Trump blasted. 'That is a level people haven’t seen but they're anarchists.
'They were going wild for 51 days and we went in and they've done a great job. They were going to rip down the courthouse, a gorgeous federal courthouse. So we went in and we have been very, very strong.'
Trump then mocked Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler as 'pretty pathetic' after he joined in protests Wednesday night and told the crowds he wanted the feds out.
Wheeler was confronted by angry protesters who dumped a bag full of shrapnel in front of him, before he was tear-gassed by federal agents.
'We have this Mayor Wheeler who I think is also the police commissioner and he made a fool of himself,' Trump continued.
'He wanted wanted to be among the people so he went into the crowd and they knocked the hell out of him and that was the end of him. It was pretty pathetic.'
People gather during a protest outside the Diana E. Murphy United States Courthouse on July 23 in Minneapolis holding banners saying they stand with Portland
Minneapolis protesters march in solidarity with Portland as officials and protesters in the Oregon city call for the federal agents to leave
The president said he had offered help to all the cities: 'I've offered them all every one of them. We're offering them all - "let us go in and we''ll clean it up".'
He boasted he could 'solve these problems so fast' if only cities 'invited' him in.
'At some point, we have to do something much stronger than being invited in.'
The president said he wants to 'help all of them' and suggested Detroit could be next on his list.
'Detroit is having problems,' he said. 'They have a very good police chief in Detroit but they're having problems.'
A federal judge Thursday banned federal agents from arresting or using physical force against journalists and legal observers at the ongoing Portland protests.
US Judge Michael Simon previously ruled that journalists and legal observers are exempt from police orders requiring protesters to disperse once an unlawful assembly has been declared.
The ruling has taken this order further after a lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and a freelance photographer covering the protests for The Associated Press submitted an affidavit that he was beaten with batons, chemical irritants and hit with rubber bullets in the city this week.
Trump's warning that federal agents could be deployed to more cities comes as his law and order takeover extended to Seattle Thursday when a Special Response Team was drafted in to stand by for duty in the city.
'The C.B.P. team will be on standby in the area, should they be required,' the Federal Protective Service said in a statement about Seattle.
The move comes in the face of pushback from city officials who say they don't want feds impacting protests.
Seattle's Democrat Mayor Jenny Durkan spoke earlier Thursday with Chad F. Wolf, the acting secretary of homeland security, and said he had assured her there were no plans to send agents into the city.
'Any deployment here would, in my view, undermine public safety,' Durkan said.
Protests have died down in Seattle since cops reclaimed the area around the CHOP zone earlier in the month.
Officers had abandoned several blocks around the Seattle Police Department's East Precinct on June 8 following clashes with protesters calling for an end to police brutality.
The area began as a peaceful autonomous zone but after three fatal shootings, police pushed protesters out of the zone.
Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot vows to take down Columbus statue despite objections from Italian American community as protesters gather at her home to demand she defunds the police
![Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot vows to take down Columbus statue despite objections from Italian American community as protesters gather at her home to demand she defunds the police]()
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