On Friday, a judge ruled that the historic statue of famed European explorer Christopher Columbus will not only remain in its place in Philadelphia’s Marconi Plaza, but that a plywood box used to cover up the statue over the previous two years must be taken down so the statue can be seen once again.
As reported by Fox News, the statue was one of many that had been targeted by far-left domestic terrorists starting in the summer of 2020, in the midst of the Black Lives Matter riots. Statues that were vandalized and even destroyed during this period include monuments to the Founding Fathers, statues of abolitionists, and memorials to Confederate soldiers, among other symbols of American history.
Christopher Columbus, the man who discovered America in 1492, has been accused by historical revisionists of racism and poor treatment of Native Americans, although these claims are baseless. As such, his Philadelphia statue, created in 1876, was among those that ended up in the Left’s crosshairs.
When multiple clashes broke out between far-left groups demanding the statue’s removal and conservationist groups who wanted to keep the statue, Mayor Jim Kenney (D-Penn.) and other city officials ordered the statue’s removal. However, a judge ruled that the statue must remain, as advocates for its removal had failed to sufficiently prove that the monument itself represented a threat to public safety.
While the legal battle dragged on in the courts, city officials instead ordered the 146-year-old statue to be completely covered by a massive plywood box, which was eventually painted over with the green, white, and red colors of the Italian flag, representing the Italian heritage of Columbus and many of the city’s residents.
In the most recent ruling on Friday, Judge Mary Hannah Leavitt of the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court determined that the statue must be uncovered for all to see once again. Judge Leavitt also ruled that a clear structure may be built around the statue to ensure both its protection and its ability to be seen by visitors.