TRUMP ISSUES STATUE 'STATUTE'
Monumental edict tells feds to get tough on vandals
President Trump on Tuesday gave federal law-enforcement officials the green light to make arrests amid the wave of statues being toppled by protesters of racial injustice.
“I have authorized the Federal Government to arrest anyone who vandalizes or destroys any monument, statue or other such Federal property in the U.S. with up to 10 years in prison, per the Veteran’s Memorial Preservation Act, or such other laws that may be pertinent.” Trump tweeted.
The commander in chief warned that his directive was “effective immediately, but may also be used retroactively for destruction or vandalism already caused. There will be no exceptions!”
Before leaving for an Arizona rally later Tuesday, Trump also said he would issue an executive order to “reinforce” existing laws and protect public artwork honoring historic national figures from “these vandals and these hoodlums and these anarchists and agitators.”
“They’re bad people, they don’t love our country, and they’re not taking down our monuments, I just want to make that clear,” he said.
Trump further vowed to crush any efforts by protesters to create an “autonomous zone” in the nation’s capital, similar to the one established in Seattle.
“There will never be an ‘Autonomous Zone’ in Washington, D.C., as long as I’m your President. If they try they will be met with serious force!” Trump tweeted.
His threat came after protesters on Monday tried to topple a statue of former President Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Park across from the White House and defaced the pillars in front of the nearby St. John’s Episcopal Church with the letters “BHAZ” — short for Black House Autonomous Zone.
Vandals tied ropes around the Jackson statue and spraypainted “Killer” on its base before US Park Police officers and DC cops dispersed them.
Trump’s “serious force” tweet led to official pushback from Twitter, which covered it with a label that said, “This Tweet violated the Twitter Rules about abusive behavior.
“However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the Tweet to remain accessible.”
The message obscures
Trump’s tweet in his timeline and prevents it from being liked or retweeted, but doesn’t prevent it from being seen if it’s clicked on.
“We’ve placed a public interest notice on this Tweet for violating our policy against abusive behavior, specifically, the presence of a threat of harm against an identifiable group,” the company said.
The move marked the third time in recent weeks that Twitter has acted in response to Trump’s tweets, prompting criticism from both the president — one of the platform’s most prolific users — and advocates of free speech.
One tweet was accused of promoting misinformation about mail-in voting, while another — in which Trump wrote, “When the looting starts, the shooting starts” — was said to have violated a policy against “the glorification of violence.”
A video posted to one of his re-election accounts was involuntarily deleted on grounds of copyright infringement.
The moves have infuriated the White House, with Trump signing an executive order aimed at weakening liability protections for social-media companies.