GLOBAL PANDEMIC NEWS
Click Me
Storechecklist
Alternative NewsCivil Unrest
Law Enforcement Today
940 posts

Protester attacks senior citizen trying to protect statue, then begs police for protection when crowd fights back. ‘Now, you want the cops!?’

Protester attacks senior citizen trying to protect statue, then begs police for protection when crowd fights back. ‘Now, you want the cops!?’ 1

NEW HAVEN, CT – It’s sort of ironic how this story turned out.

A protester attacked a senior citizen in Wooster Square Park in New Haven, Connecticut last week (scroll for video).

The senior citizen was attending the removal of the Christopher Columbus statue from the park when a Latino protester attacked him with a loudspeaker. Both men were protesting but for different reasons.

NBC-CT reported that the city of New Haven decided to take down the Columbus statue because of all the protests for racial justice across the nation.

NBC-CT reported:

“The statue will remain in the city’s custody and will be moved to the Knights of Columbus Museum. The city said the statue holds deep ties to the Italian-American community, as it was first erected in 1892, and later recast in bronze in 1955.”

Price & Product Availability Tracker

Discover where products are available & compare prices

The senior citizen was a white male and a member of the Italian-Heritage Foundation. The group was protesting the removal of the Columbus statue.

For the Italian-Heritage Foundation and other Italians, the Christopher Columbus statue represents “a point of pride for Italians, who were discriminated against when they first immigrated to America before achieving success.”

The moment the man attacked the senior citizen was caught on camera.

In the footage, you can see the Latino man hit and older white man with a loudspeaker and then wrestle him to the ground. The assailant is wearing a T-shirt with the words “White Lives Matter Too Much.”

The angry crowd then responds to defend the senior citizen, and ironically a police officer had to protect the Latino assailant.

One man in the crowd yells at the attacker as he cowers behind the police officer: 

“Now you want the cops! NOW you want them, huh?”

You can then see in the footage the Latino male wrapping his arms around the white police officer while begging the officer to protect him. 

Ironically, a police officer eventually intervened to protect the Latino assailant from the angry crowd after he assaulted the senior citizen.
One man in the crowd yells at the attacker as he cowers behind the police officer: “Now you want the cops! NOW you want them, huh?”

Business and Politics reported New Haven resident Louis Pane told NBC Connecticut:

“We just want everybody else to respect our ethnic group as well. It’s about coming together as one in the future to all live-in harmony and all have equality.”

NBC-CT reported that Louis Pane has filed an injunction against the city opposing the removal of the Christopher Columbus statue. He believes they have no right to take the statue away. NBC-CT also quotes him as saying:

“Growing up in New Haven, we grew up with all ethnic groups and we all had harmony because we all respected each other, and every ethnic group today is struggling here in the United States as we all know.

“But it’s not about erasing history, but it’s about coming together as on in the future to all live-in harmony and equality. We just want everyone else to respect our ethnic group as well.”

The video of the incident is below:

New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker was reported as being disappointed by the events that occurred at the removal of the Columbus statue. Mayor Elicker made a lengthy statement, as reported by NBC-CT:

“The decision to remove the statue of Columbus today was one that was spearheaded by a group of leaders in the Italian community. While this decision for those leaders was not easy, they courageously did the right thing.

“I support this decision. I want to take a moment to thank those leaders for their support in recognizing the history of colonialism and its negative effects on many cultures, and their help to identify a place where the statue can reside. I know that there are some people who strongly disagree with the decision to remove the statute.

“People have the right to protest and express their opinions peacefully. We will work collaboratively to ensure we honor New Haven’s Italian Heritage and immigrant history. I look forward to the many community conversations surrounding what we would like to see replace the statue of Christopher Columbus, and how we can highlight other cultural icons for the many Italian-Americans that have made New Haven their home.

“It is disappointing that some at the protest incited fighting. New Haven has a long history of lively dialogue, but violence has no place in our city. We face a very challenging moment in history. We must work as a community to listen, understand, and have respectful dialogue with each other. This moment, while challenging, is also an opportunity to bring people together.”

The incident had some comedic irony to it, as reported by Business & Politics because the fact that the assailant sought protection from the local police “underscores the stupidity of the left’s ‘Defund the Police’ movement.”   

Columbus statues have been a source of violence and contention for many in recent weeks. Law Enforcement Today has been reporting on instances of violence and vandalism surrounding that.

A middle school social studies teacher based out of Rhode Island served up a recent lesson to be heeded that wasn’t in the realm of history or geography.

Rather, the lesson was in cause and effect after getting arrested for the vandalism of a statue of Christopher Columbus in Providence.

It’s not hard to see the irony of a social studies teacher getting arrested for allegedly vandalizing a statue of a historical figure to the United States.

Jenks Middle School teacher Derrick Garforth was charged with felony desecration of a grave or monument on June 13th.

Police allegedly caught Garfoth red-handed, or rather purple handed in a literal sense, defacing the monument located in Providence, Rhode Island.

The teacher was allegedly in cahoots with two other suspects while splashing purple and white paint toward the statue of Columbus.

MacKenzie Innis, 26, of ProvidenceCOURTESY PROVIDENCE POLICE DEPARTMENTMacKenzie Innis, 26, of Providence COURTESY PROVIDENCE POLICE DEPARTMENT

The teacher, aside from being arrested, was also placed on leave, according to Pawtucket Superintendent Cheryl McWilliams:

“I have just learned about this, and the Pawtucket School Department is investigating it.”

Police witnessed the alleged act of vandalism, and chased a car where two suspects hopped in after throwing the paint at the statue. Garforth and Charlotte Whittingham were said to be passengers inside the vehicle that was later stopped, with Mackenzie Innis being cited as the driver.

Charlotte Whittingham, 28, of ProvidenceCOURTESY PROVIDENCE POLICE DEPARTMENTCharlotte Whittingham, 28, of Providence COURTESY PROVIDENCE POLICE DEPARTMENT

Inside the vehicle stopped, police recovered purple and white paint that was said to be consistent with the paint thrown at the statue. There’s currently no word yet on scheduled court appearances for the accused at this time.

LET has a private home for those who support emergency responders and veterans called LET Unity.  We reinvest the proceeds into sharing their untold stories. Click to check it out.

Murdered officer's grave desecrated before headstone even placed

Christopher Columbus statues have been getting targeted quite frequently lately. 

A group of vandals decided to take it upon themselves to forcibly remove a statue of Christopher Columbus in Richmond on June 9th, thereafter defacing it and tossing it into a lake. This is a prime example of affording an inch, and the mob taking a mile.

Many are well aware of the numerous statues of historical figures from the Confederate-era that wound up being removed in 2017, typically by way of locality votes and legislation. But what took place on the evening of June 9th was different, for many reasons.

The Christopher Columbus statue, which was held at the William Byrd Park, was torn down via ropes by a group of vandals at approximately 9:00 p.m. that evening. After having already been spray painted and torn down, the group then proceeded to discard the statue within Fountain Lake.

The first issue with the statue removal was that is was not legally sanctioned – at all. The statue is owned by the city itself, yet an unruly mob decided that chanting “tear it down” and thus proceeding to do such is perfectly fine because the statue is offensive to some.

The second most concerning issue in this illegal act, is that mainstream media outlets are calling the vandals “protesters.”

They’re not protesters if they’re committing crimes. They’re criminals.

Here’s a quote from The Hill describing the criminal act:

“Statues of Christopher Columbus were targeted by protesters.”

Here’s one by ABC affiliate 6 Action News:

“A statue of Christopher Columbus in Richmond was torn down by protesters, set on fire and then thrown into a lake.”

And yet another ABC affiliate, 13 WBKO, citing the vandals as “protesters”:

“The Christopher Columbus statue was torn down by protesters in downtown Richmond.”

Whether people like the statue or not, it is still a criminal act for someone or a group of people to tear it down and discard it into a lake. The ones responsible for said act were not protesters during those moments to destroy what wasn’t theirs – they were miscreants.

Of course, there are those that would justify the act of destruction by the virtue of saying that “Christopher Columbus was an evil person.” While that may be true, he was also a figure from the 15th century. The entire world in general wasn’t exactly full of the nicest people during that period.

The 15th century saw the likes of the Jingnan rebellion in China, the Russo-Kazan Wars between Muscovite Russia and the Khanate from Kazan, there were the numerous wars between Morocco and Portugal that started during the 15th century; acts related to territorial claiming, war, and conquest were not a European exclusive during the century.

Needless to say, it has been a long time since Columbus “sailed the ocean blue” in 1492 and the world has moved on collectively from exploits that were a then-worldwide normal occurrence.

Virginia wasn’t the only location to have a Christopher Columbus statue vandalized. One statue of the 15th century figure was beheaded in Boston, Massachusetts as well.

As with the Virginia statue vandalized and discarded, the sentiment from the vandals was the same regarding the Boston statue, with it being some kind of symbol of racism.

Furthermore, one Twitter account even posted a picture of the now decapitated statue online, stating the following one day before the vandalism:

“It would be a shame if the statue of Columbus fell into Boston Harbor… a real shame…”

Sadly, social media giants are allowing the likes of rallying coordinated acts of destruction to take place on their platforms.

Neither the Richmond Police Department nor the Boston Police have made any mention of the perpetrated crimes of vandalism.

Then again, why would they? If either department were to dare mention seeking out the criminals responsible for the destruction, they’d likely be maligned in the media even more than they already are.

_

Want to make sure you never miss a story from Law Enforcement Today?  With so much “stuff” happening in the world on social media, it’s easy for things to get lost.  

Make sure you click “following” and then click “see first” so you don’t miss a thing!  (See image below.)  Thanks for being a part of the LET family!

Facebook Follow First

Read the Full Article

Alternative News, Civil Unrest

Prepare Now Before its too Late

Discover where products are available & compare prices

Find Products
House Democrats: Let’s make DC a state. Also House Democrats: We’re not going to condemn the rioters. (Op-ed)
1 dead, 1 injured at Breonna Taylor protest park in Kentucky

You might also like
Menu