President Donald Trump called on Monday to put in prison the "
animals
" responsible for having debunked the day before two statues of former American presidents in Portland, a city in the North-West shaken by almost daily demonstrations since the end of May.
“
Put these animals in jail right away.
The Radical Left does not know how to do anything other than to profit from the + political management + of the idiots.
That's it Biden!
Donald Trump wrote on Twitter in a spate of messages reacting to Sunday night's unrest in Portland, Oregon.
The city and the state are both ruled by its Democratic opponents.
Read also: United States: in Portland, the battle between anti-racist activists and the federal police
A group estimated at around 300 by the police had gathered in the center of Portland on the eve of "
Columbus Day
", supposed to celebrate the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus.
Many states and cities
across
the country have, however, renamed the day “
Indigenous Peoples Day
”, due to growing criticism that Christopher Columbus ushered in the era of colonization and racist violence.
The demonstrators, mostly dressed in black, masked and helmets, began by taking down a statue of President Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) from a vehicle, before unbolting that of President Abraham Lincoln (1809) -1865).
Both statues were painted over, and the nearby Portland Historical Society was also vandalized.
"
This group intended to commit violent criminal acts and create disorder,
" Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell said Monday, after three people were arrested.
The rally, where there were "
armed individuals
", was presented by the organizers as "
a day of rage
", added Chuck Lovell.
Read also: One hundred days after the death of George Floyd, Portland continues to demonstrate
The mayor of Portland, Ted Wheeler, for his part called these acts of vandalism "
obscene
", considering that they went "
against the values of this city
".
In the wake of protests across the United States over the death of black forty-something George Floyd suffocated below the knee of a white policeman in Minneapolis at the end of May, numerous statues representing American presidents and other historical figures associated with the slavery had been debunked in the country.