Statue of Christopher Columbus (Baltimore)

On Independence Day 2020, a group of protestors gathered at the piazza to remove the statue by lassoing the top of the monument according to footage of the event.[5] The monument subsequently fell to the ground and broke into fragments. The protesters continued by rolling the body of the statue into the Jones Falls canal of the Baltimore Harbor.[6]

The event came days before a warning made by the organization known as the Baltimore BLOC that the group would be destroying the monument if the city did not take upon the action themselves.[7] Afterwards, Baltimore BLOC celebrated and applauded their "kinfolk" involved in the statue's destruction.[8]

During the days leading up to the statue's demise, former State Senator John Pica attempted to raise funds for the statue's relocation, which was estimated to be approximately $100,000.[9] On June 26, 2020 supporters of the monument, including state delegates Nino Mangione and Kathy Szeliga as well as state senator Johnny Salling, gathered to promote keeping the monument as it stands.[10]

As with many of the recent monument removals across America, reactions were mixed. Governor Larry Hogan denounced the vandalism and instead encouraged having a "constructive dialogue" regarding monument removal.[11] Mayor Jack Young did not explicitly express disagreement with the protesters, and instead commented that the statue's destruction was "part of a national and global reexamination over monuments".[12]