WASHINGTON (AP) — Protesters have toppled the only statue of a Confederate general in the nation's capital and set it on fire. It happened on Juneteenth, the day marking the end of slavery in the United States, and amid continuing anti-racism demonstrations following the killing of George Floyd. Cheering demonstrators watched as the statue of Albert Pike — wrapped with chains — wobbled on its high granite pedestal before falling backward, landing in a pile of dust. Eyewitness accounts and videos indicated that police were on the scene but didn’t intervene. President Donald Trump called out the mayor and the local police on Twitter, complaining that they “are not doing their job.”
Maya Alleruzzo/AP
The only statue of a Confederate general, Albert Pike, in the nation's capital lies down after it was toppled by protesters and set on fire in Washington early Saturday, June 20, 2020. It comes on Juneteenth, the day marking the end of slavery in the United States, amid continuing anti-racism demonstrations following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.(AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo)
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