Six people have been arrested in connection with the vandalism of the Maine statue in Central Park by demonstrators.
Six people were arrested Thursday night in Central Park after demonstrators vandalized the Maine Monument, police said.
Around 11 p.m. Thursday, demonstrators gathered inside the park and scrawled graffiti on the monument near Columbus Circle, cops said.
On the base of the monument, graffiti artists scrawled “ACAB” — an acronym for “All Cops Are Bastards” — as well as “Stop killing children” and “Stonewall was a riot.”
Additionally, red paint was splattered on the figures at the monument’s base.
Around 200 people marched from Greenwich Village to the monument to “correct the legacy of white supremacy,” according to one speaker.
Authorities said the demonstrators were members of a party that conducts weekly protests outside the Stonewall Inn.
According to advocates, the rally was relatively peaceful before they reached Columbus Circle.
“After a peaceful night of demonstrating, the NYPD waited for the majority of demonstrators to disperse and then swarmed those left on the sidewalk,” the group Protest NYC tweeted. “Police honed in on organizers. Numerous arrests made.”
The Maine Monument commemorates the 260 American sailors who perished aboard the USS Maine, which sunk in 1898 near Havana, Cuba. According to the Central Park Conservancy’s website, the statue was dedicated in 1913.
“While we support everyone’s right to peaceful protest, vandalism is not an acceptable form of peaceful protest,” the NYPD tweeted alongside a video of the graffiti left on the monument’s foundation. “We are attempting to de-escalate the incident in order to avoid more harm.” Cops arrested four demonstrators on charges of disorderly conduct and criminal mischief. Additional two people, believed to be protesters, were arrested for fighting and then spitting at cops during their detention.
Friday, charges against the two brawlers remained pending.
