The Local Drama

Short version: "rumors" went around "they" were going to remove a Columbus status from a park (they weren't), a bunch of local goons who probably never thought about the statue before decided to "defend" it by showing up with baseball bats, protesters and journalists showed up mostly to document the vigilante goons who behaved liked vigilante goons with the blessing of the cops (no one was really trying to take the statue down), and now the statue is coming down.

Philadelphia city officials on Wednesday announced they intend to remove the statue of Christopher Columbus in Marconi Plaza, which has repeatedly attracted armed groups accused of assaulting protesters and passersby amid a national reckoning over monuments to controversial figures.
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Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement Wednesday the city will ask the Art Commission on July 22 to approve the statue’s removal “in light of ongoing public safety concerns about the presence of armed individuals at Marconi Plaza.” The move came less than 24 hours after the most recent incident, in which a group of armed white South Philadelphians provoked a brawl with protesters supporting the Black Lives Matter movement.

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District Attorney Larry Krasner on Wednesday criticized the police response, saying, “It is the role of government to be even-handed in trying to prevent violence on both sides and not to favor people who perhaps make Frank Rizzo’s acolytes feel comfortable,” a reference to the former mayor and police commissioner.

The Philly DA is not loved by the local cops.