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Washington DC police fend off protesters seeking to dismantle monument to Andrew Jackson

According to The Washington Post, the protesters attached ropes to the statue, located on Lafayette Square and started rocking it

WASHINGTON, June 23. /TASS/. US capital policemen used pepper gas to disperse protesters who sought to dismantle the monument to the US’s seventh president Andrew Jackson Monday, The Washington Post reports.

According to the newspaper, the protesters attached ropes to the statue, located on Lafayette Square and started rocking it. Law enforcement officers intervened, placing barriers around the monument. The police managed to fend off the protesters, the newspaper reported, adding that some people were apprehended in the process.

The riots were commented on by US President Donald Trump. "Numerous people arrested in D.C. for the disgraceful vandalism, in Lafayette Park, of the magnificent Statue of Andrew Jackson, in addition to the exterior defacing of St. John’s Church across the street. 10 years in prison under the Veteran’s Memorial Preservation Act. Beware!" the President tweeted.

Mass protests and riots sparked in many US states following the death of African American George Floyd. He died in hospital after a police officer used a choke hold during his arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25. All four involved police officers were fired and charged.