<p>Protesters overturned statues of former Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln in Portland, Oregon, in a declaration of “rage” toward Columbus Day.</p>.<p>Protest organisers on Sunday night dubbed the event "Indigenous Peoples Day of Rage,” in response to Monday's federal holiday named after 15th-century Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, a polarising figure who Native American advocates have said spurred centuries of genocide against indigenous populations in the Americas.</p>.<p>The group threw chains around Roosevelt's statue, officially titled “Theodore Roosevelt, Rough Rider." They threw red paint on the monument and began using a blowtorch on the statue's base, news outlets reported.</p>.<p>The crowd pulled down the statue just before 9 pm. The group later turned their attention toward Lincoln's statue, pulling it down about eight minutes later.</p>.<p>Historians have said Roosevelt expressed hostility toward Native Americans, once saying: “I don't go so far as to think that the only good Indians are dead Indians, but I believe nine out of every 10 are ...”</p>.<p>Protesters spray-painted “Dakota 38” on the base of Lincoln's statue, referencing the 38 Dakota men Lincoln approved to have hanged after the men were involved in a violent conflict with white settlers in Minnesota.</p>.<p>After toppling the statues, the crowd began smashing windows at the Oregon Historical Society and later moved onto the Portland State University Campus Public Safety office.</p>.<p>Police later declared the event a riot and ordered the group to disperse. Police said anyone involved in “criminal behavior, including vandalism” was subject to arrest. It's unclear if any arrests were made.</p>.<p>The monuments are the latest statues to come down in a wave of removed monuments and protests sparked by the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.</p>
<p>Protesters overturned statues of former Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln in Portland, Oregon, in a declaration of “rage” toward Columbus Day.</p>.<p>Protest organisers on Sunday night dubbed the event "Indigenous Peoples Day of Rage,” in response to Monday's federal holiday named after 15th-century Italian explorer Christopher Columbus, a polarising figure who Native American advocates have said spurred centuries of genocide against indigenous populations in the Americas.</p>.<p>The group threw chains around Roosevelt's statue, officially titled “Theodore Roosevelt, Rough Rider." They threw red paint on the monument and began using a blowtorch on the statue's base, news outlets reported.</p>.<p>The crowd pulled down the statue just before 9 pm. The group later turned their attention toward Lincoln's statue, pulling it down about eight minutes later.</p>.<p>Historians have said Roosevelt expressed hostility toward Native Americans, once saying: “I don't go so far as to think that the only good Indians are dead Indians, but I believe nine out of every 10 are ...”</p>.<p>Protesters spray-painted “Dakota 38” on the base of Lincoln's statue, referencing the 38 Dakota men Lincoln approved to have hanged after the men were involved in a violent conflict with white settlers in Minnesota.</p>.<p>After toppling the statues, the crowd began smashing windows at the Oregon Historical Society and later moved onto the Portland State University Campus Public Safety office.</p>.<p>Police later declared the event a riot and ordered the group to disperse. Police said anyone involved in “criminal behavior, including vandalism” was subject to arrest. It's unclear if any arrests were made.</p>.<p>The monuments are the latest statues to come down in a wave of removed monuments and protests sparked by the May 25 death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.</p>