Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) is telling Baltimore’s leaders to “regain control” of the city in a statement on Sunday afternoon.
Hogan wrote, “While we welcome peaceful protests and constructive dialogue on whether and how to put certain monuments in context or move them to museums or storage through a legal process, lawlessness, vandalism, and destruction of property are completely unacceptable.”
“That is the antithesis of democracy and should be condemned by everyone, regardless of their politics. Baltimore City leaders need to regain control of their streets and immediately start making them safer,” he added.
Read the statement below:
Today I issued the following statement on events in Baltimore City. City leaders need to regain control of their own streets and immediately start making them safer. pic.twitter.com/lnCAxjKvAG
— Governor Larry Hogan (@GovLarryHogan) July 5, 2020
Hogan’s comments come after protesters in Baltimore tore down a statue of Christopher Columbus and threw it into the Inner Harbor.
Trump has repeatedly railed against protesters, who he called “angry mobs,” tearing down statues around the country.
During remarks at Mount Rushmore on Friday, Trump addressed the call for the removal of the monument, “This monument will never be desecrated. These heroes will never be defaced. Their legacy will never, ever be destroyed. Their achievements will never be forgotten.”
“And Mount Rushmore will stand forever as an eternal tribute to our forefathers and our freedom,” he added.
As protests erupted around the country in the wake of George Floyd’s death, Trump called for law and order as some demonstrations turned violent, as IJR reported.
“These are not acts of peaceful protests. These are acts of domestic terror. The destruction of innocent life, and the spilling of innocent blood is an offense to humanity and a crime against God,” Trump said of the violent demonstrations.
He also threatened to deploy the U.S. Military in cities if local governments did not curtail the violence.
And after protesters in several cities tore down statues of controversial figures, Trump signed an executive order designed to force local governments to protect the statues.
Hogan had previously criticized Trump’s rhetoric around the demonstrations and said his comments were “not helpful [and] not lowering the temperature.”