Activist Crushed By Falling Confederate Statue After Frenzied Mob Toppled It

Both across the United States and Britain, Antifa and other far left groups are taking it upon themselves to deface and topple statues and memorials they don’t like, seeking to “purge” the culture of anything they deem “offensive” — such as lately a spate of attacks on Christopher Columbus statues. 

When on late Tuesday Columbus statues were destroyed in Richmond and Boston, we wondered if police are now resigned to just sit back and let the groups of mostly young white people trash the county’s monuments, as it appeared to be the case in Richmond, where a crowd set fire to a Columbus monument, and dragged it some 200 yards before chunking it into a lake — all within plain sight of police and the media. 

But if nothing else will get police to intervene to stop what in normal times would be a felony offense, perhaps the danger of serious injury to persons will, as during the latest overnight monument toppling a man was critically injured when a some 600-pound Confederate statue came crashing down on top of him.

Graphic video: Watch the moment a toppled Confederate soldier statue falls on a rioter, injuring him severely. This happened tonight in Portsmouth, Va. All the statues around the monument were beheaded before this accident. #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/yv5j45Fd7j

— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) June 11, 2020

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It was all captured in video: the crowd begins to cheer the moment one of the statues on the monument crashes down, but horror ensues as soon as it’s realized a man is underneath.

The shocking video shows a man – apparently unaware the large, likely many hundreds of pounds statue was going to be pulled down in that moment – get struck squarely on the head by the massive falling object. The chaos of the scene also makes it clear there was zero coordination or organization obviously given the mob frenzy, and highly dangerous setting.

Notice too how the “defund the police” mob quickly allows police assistance in clearing the scene and getting the critically injured man to a hospital. One young white woman who was previously waving around a sledge hammer atop the monument drops it and later is seen making a swift exit.

SWAT moving in with a barrier to shield the victim. pic.twitter.com/vcrgi4cLtZ

— Matt Jones (@jones_mattryan) June 11, 2020

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NBC describes that what appears in the video to be a black male victim of the accident is in serious condition at a nearby hospital after the grizzly scene:

A witness identified as a Black Lives Matter activist told NBC affiliate WAVY that the injured man had been at the front of the “statue” when he was struck as it was pulled down.

“It came and fully hit him in the head, and we could see that his skull was actually showing,” he said. “He was convulsing on the ground.”

“He lost a great amount of blood,” the witness said. “And we ask that everybody pray for that man right now.”

Here’s a close-up video of the statue incident in Portsmouth, VA. Protesters gather around him with their phones to film
and take photos of the carnage, blocking EMTs from rescuing him until the police clear the way. pic.twitter.com/dWVu3VgMtI

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) June 11, 2020

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Just after 10pm as emergency response units rushed to the scene, the Portsmouth police department tweeted out that citizens should stay away from the area of area of Court Street at High Street, where the incident took place. 

Violent protesters in Portsmouth, Va. behead a statue of a Confederate soldier and parade it around in celebration. Photo: @BrettHNews. pic.twitter.com/NWBfM9A2hW

— Andy Ngô (@MrAndyNgo) June 11, 2020

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The local police also admitted they were told by civic authorities to essentially stand down and let the Confederate monument be destroyed. 

According to CBS 3 WTKR News:

Chief Greene says an elected official gave her the order to not enforce vandalism and says there was a lot of miscommunication. She also says after what happened Wednesday night, something has to be done sooner when it comes to the monument.

A trombone and a burning monument. This is the scene in @cityofPortsVA @WTKR3 pic.twitter.com/mXN8idDXTX

— Nana-Séntuo Bonsu (@NSBonsu_) June 11, 2020

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But notice that immediately when the man is injured how fast the crowd screams out for emergency authorities to come to their aid, also as the group parts to allow police onto the scene. 

Local police have said that no arrests have been made related to the incident, while many on social media have called for charges against those orchestrating the haphazard and very dangerous statue toppling which may have proved fatal.