George Washington statue near L.A.’s City Hall vandalized
Sculpture is toppled at Grand Park in protest of the first president’s use of slavery.
Seven individuals were arrested Thursday night in the vandalism of a statue of George Washington in downtown’s Grand Park, Los Angeles police said.
No further details of the arrests were available, police said. Footage from KCAL-TV Channel 9 shows the statue toppled, with red paint smeared on its hands and face and the anarchy symbol tagged on the base.
The incident followed a small protest at the park across from City Hall on Hill Street between Temple and 1st streets, according to media reports.
Protests over landmarks and spaces dedicated to public figures with troubling histories have emerged in recent months following the killing of George Floyd, who died after a Minneapolis police officer pinned him at the neck with his knee for more than eight minutes.
Washington’s history as a slave owner has been the subject of protests in various cities.
The statue in Los Angeles is a bronze copy of a sculpture that was placed in the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond in 1796. The original was created in Paris, and about 30 copies were created in the late 19th century, the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture said.
The statue in Grand Park was obtained by the Women’s Community Service and presented to the county in 1933 on Feb. 22 — Washington’s birthday.
