White House refuses to say why feds didn’t protect monuments from rioters

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White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany (Official White House photo by Andrea Hanks)

By Mary Margaret Olohan
Daily Caller News Foundation

The White House is refusing to address why the federal government did not protect the national monuments honoring United States heroes during riots over the weekend.

Photographs from the National Parks Service show that rioters defaced historic monuments honoring United States heroes in Washington, D.C. The defacements occurred as rioters protested the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a Minneapolis, Minnesota, police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes, video of the incident shows.

Despite the defacements, the White House has not addressed why the federal government did not protect these national monuments from defacement. The White House also refused to comment on the matter to the Daily Caller News Foundation despite multiple opportunities to do so.

The National Parks Service also did not respond to requests for comment from the DCNF as to what measures have been or will be taken to protect these monuments.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Monday during a press briefing that she has not heard of any plans to use martial law to protect national monuments in DC.

“In the wake of last night’s demonstrations, there are numerous instances of vandalism to sites around the National Mall,” the National Mall Park Service tweeted Sunday. “For generations the Mall has been our nation’s premier civic gathering space for non-violent demonstrations, and we ask individuals to carry on that tradition.”

The tweet is accompanied by photographs of defacements on both the Lincoln Memorial and the World War II memorial.

Rioters also defaced monuments in Lafayette Park, including a monument to Major General Wilhelm von Steuben, a Prussian soldier who helped Americans fight against the English during the Revolutionary War. The memorial is located in Lafayette Square.

Major General Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand Steuben, photo courtesy of Krista Oliver.

The defaced monument to Major General Friedrich Wilhelm August Heinrich Ferdinand Steuben in Lafayette Square, photo courtesy of Krista Oliver.

This story originally was published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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