Richmond protesters throw Columbus statue in lake

A statue of Christopher Columbus in Virginia was torn down by protesters on Tuesday, set on fire and then thrown into a lake. It happened in Richmond after protesters gathered in the city’s Byrd Park and called for the statue to be taken down. They used ropes to remove the statue from its pedestal, and then painted the words “Columbus represents genocide” onto the site. There was no police presence in the park, but a police helicopter was seen circling the area after the city-owned figure was torn down, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. The Columbus statue was dedicated in Richmond in December 1927, and had been the first statue of Christopher Columbus erected in the South, the newspaper reported. Its toppling came amid national protests over the death of George Floyd.