Many of the nation's anti-racist protesters who up until this point haven't been able to get officials to budge on taking down Confederate monuments in their locals have threatened to take action into their own hands since the unraveling of recent events in Charlottesville. By midweek, monuments had been removed from Baltimore to Hollywood, and in cities where the law prohibits the move, actions have been taken by rogue politicians and by activists to reconcile for their voices not being heard on the controversial issue. Such appears to have been the case in Arizona on Thursday, August 17.
Those driving past The Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway Monument, near US-60 and Peralta Road may have noticed the degree to which it had been vandalized. The party responsible for its damage had completely covered the stone relic with tar and feathers. Although state congressman Reginald Bolding has advocated that the monument is dealt with by local government, he expressed disappointment that somebody went the route of destroying the property and professed that it will be costly to fix. "This will not lead to the civil discourse and debate that we have been calling for," Bolding said in a statement given to the press. "It is a short-term action that does not help the long-term goal of having these offensive monuments removed from state property."
The vigilante fashion with which the monument's defacing took place, is reminiscent of the action that was staged to remove a statue in Durham earlier this week. Authorities were able to identify the main perpetrator in that case, and she was jailed on $10,000 bond for her role. On Thursday the droves of demonstrators who had participated in the statue's removal with her went turning themselves in as a statement of solidarity with her.
Source: nydailynews.com
