#DC protesters topple, torch confederate statue on Juneteenth

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People stand around the statue of Confederate general Albert Pike after it was toppled by protesters at Judiciary square in Wahsington, DC
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Protesters in Washington, D.C, tore down and set fire to a statue of Confederate general Albert Pike after a day of Juneteenth rallies.

Roughly 80 or so demonstrators jumped and cheered after others used ropes to topple the monument in the Judiciary Square neighborhood late Friday night.

The fallen statue —  the only confederate monument in the nation’s capital —  was then promptly lit on fire, with one protester filmed lighting a cigarette on its embers as others chanted “black lives matter!”

The statue is among many in the United States and cities abroad that have been targeted during the civil unrest over the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd.

Officials across the country have promised to reevaluate their monuments, in some cases pledging to take them down outright. In others, protesters have taken it upon themselves to either severely vandalize or tear down controversial statues.

President Trump late Friday called for the arrest of everyone involved in Pike’s takedown.

“The D.C. Police are not doing their job as they watch a statue be ripped down & burn. These people should be immediately arrested,” the president tweeted. “A disgrace to our Country!”