4 men have been charged in Federal court after trying to tear down the Andrew Jackson statue in Lafayette Square.
So, apparently it is an actual crime to deface or destroy Federal property. Who’d have guessed it?
Surly, none of these people ever got in trouble in junior high for defacing school property. Perhaps the schools just turned a blnd eye after the students told them it was to protest injustice.
This was the scene last Monday.
Fox News has the scoop:
The Department of Justice on Saturday announced charges against four men for their alleged involvement in the vandalization of the Andrew Jackson statue in Lafayette Square in Washington, D.C., during a demonstration earlier this week.The news broke just hours after President Trump tweeted 15 individual press releases from the U.S. Park Police, with photographs of suspects who allegedly desecrated the monument, which lies on federally owned property.
Lee Michael Cantrell, 47, of Virginia; Connor Matthew Judd, 20, of Washington, D.C.; Ryan Lane, 37, of Maryland; and Graham Lloyd, 37, of Maine, were all charged in a criminal complaint Friday with "destruction of federal property," according to the Justice Department (DOJ).
The charges were announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin; Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division, James A. Dawson, and Acting Chief of the Park Police Gregory T. Monahan.
The complaint, which was unsealed Saturday, states that on June 22, the four men participated in damaging the statue alongside other rioters, while also being captured on video "attempting to pry the statue off its base with a wooden board and trying to pull the statue down with the aid of a yellow strap," the DOJ said.
It also claims there is video evidence showing "Lloyd as he breaks off and destroys the wheels of cannons located at the base of the statue. Lloyd is then captured on video pulling on ropes in an effort to topple the statue and handing a hammer to an unidentified individual involved in the incident," according to the department.
President Donald Trump had this to say via Twitter.
The president, along with the FBI, and other law enforcement are rightly taking a stand against these criminal acts of vandalism and destruction.
CNN with more:
President Donald Trump re-tweeted the announcement of the charges and has re-tweeted several law enforcement posts of posters of men wanted for questioning regarding the incident. Since the Monday incident, he has repeatedly criticized the protesters who tried to topple the statue."The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia will not stand idly by and allow our national monuments to be vandalized and destroyed. This Office remains steadfast in its commitment to protect the sacred First Amendment right of individuals to peacefully protest, but these charges should serve as a warning to those who choose to desecrate the statues and monuments that adorn our nation's capital: your violent behavior and criminal conduct will not be tolerated," acting US Attorney Michael Sherwin said in a statement.
"The FBI respects the peaceful exercise of First Amendment rights, but we will not allow opportunists to hijack peaceful protests to incite violence and destruction of property," said James Dawson, the special agent in charge of the FBI Washington Field Office's Criminal Division. "We will continue to work with our partners to enforce federal laws prohibiting damage to government facilities and property."
It is time for all this rediculous behavior to end. These acts of vandalism can no longer be hidden behind the guise of "protesting." The silent majority in the United States is starting to make themselves heard.
As the president has reminded us for weeks, our country needs law & order.
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