A group of far-left rioters attempted to destroy a historic Confederate monument in Birmingham, Alabama, with the city’s mayor eventually caving to their demands and vowing to remove it himself, according to CNN.
Mayor Randall Woodfin (D-Ala.) personally arrived at the scene as rioters converged on the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument, a five-story obelisk, and attempted to tear it down. Upon arriving, he begged the rioters to disperse before the police arrived and arrested them, vowing that he would “finish the job for you.”
Rioters had already destroyed another Confederate monument in the park, a state of Confederate sailor Charles Linn, and had sprayed graffiti on the base of the obelisk before attempting to tear down the 52-foot structure themselves.
At a press conference on Monday, Woodfin attempted to denounce the violence, saying “Birmingham, this is not us. This is not who we are. This is not how we taught the world how to protest.”
The far-left’s efforts to destroy Confederate monuments have been ongoing for several years, and have resulted in many politicians caving to their demands. In some instances, far-left groups have taken it upon themselves to destroy the historic monuments. Antifa, the most violent far-left group in the nation, has since been declared a terrorist organization by President Trump.
Eventually, other monuments became targets for the rioting crowds, including the World War II Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and the historic St. John’s Episcopal Church, all located in Washington, D.C. President Trump vowed on Monday night to mobilize the military to Washington, and to any other states where he feels local and state leaders are proving inadequate, to crush the violent riots that have been burning cities all across America.