Trump calls for arrests in DC after crowd tears down Albert Pike statue

President Trump late Friday called for the arrest of individuals in Washington, D.C., who took part in toppling the statue of Confederate general Albert Pike in Judiciary Square.

“The D.C. Police are not doing their job as they watch a statue be ripped down & burn,” Trump tweeted. “These people should be immediately arrested. A disgrace to our Country!”

Trump tagged D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) in the tweet. The president has repeatedly criticized the mayor’s handling of recent protests in the District, reportedly calling her “weak.”

The D.C. Police are not doing their job as they watch a statue be ripped down & burn. These people should be immediately arrested. A disgrace to our Country! @MayorBowser

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 20, 2020

Roughly 100 protestors gathered in Judiciary Square on Friday night around 11 p.m. to take down the statue of Pike.

Pike, who was also a prominent figure among the Freemasons, was the only Confederate soldier to have an outdoor statue in the District. The statue commemorated his contributions to the Freemasons.

And protesters just toppled the Albert Pike statue in DC pic.twitter.com/gEzJm0OYjd

— Perry Stein (@PerryStein) June 20, 2020

BREAKING : ALBERT PIKE STATUE TORN DOWN. Protesters converged on Judiciarw Square in the District to tear down this stature of a confederate general @fox5dc pic.twitter.com/CHXucC4Gzi

— Ike Ejiochi (@IkeEjiochi) June 20, 2020

Pike’s statue was the latest to topple, as protestors around the country this week have been taking down statues of Confederate soldiers and other figures who were known to have owned slaves.

Protests in the country have been going for over three weeks, sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25.