WASHINGTON (AP) – Protesters tried to pull down a statue of President Andrew Jackson near the White House Monday night before being dispersed by police.
WUSA-TV in Washington reports that police used pepper spray to move protesters out of Lafayette Square, where the Jackson statue is located.
Videos posted on social media show that the protesters climbed on the statue and tied ropes around it, then tried to pull it off its pedestal.
The 19th century president’s ruthless treatment of Native Americans has made his statue a target of demonstrators protesting the United States’ legacy of racial injustice.
The Jackson statue remains on its pedestal.
