McCarthy calls on Pelosi to condemn ‘mob violence’ after toppling of St. Junipero Serra statue

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Wednesday said Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) should condemn protesters after a statue of St. Junipero Serra was torn down in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.

“Given that today is the Feast Day of Saint Junipero Serra, her condemnation of mob violence would be especially timely,” McCarthy said in a statement. “Today should be a day for celebration. Instead, we’ve recently seen a violent leftwing mob tear down the statue of St. Serra in Speaker Pelosi’s district in San Francisco, California.”

A statue of Serra, an 18th century Franciscan priest who was canonized by Pope Francis in 2015, was pulled down by protesters on June 19, along with statues of Francis Scott Key and Ulysses S. Grant. A statue of Miguel de Cervantes was spray painted that same day.

Serra founded missions in California and is viewed by many indigenous people as colonizer who contributed to the destruction of Native American culture.

McCarthy went on to accuse Pelosi of “self-censorship.”

“Although it would not excuse her weeks-long delay, a clear, sincere, and unequivocal rejection of the mob would go a long way in conveying that lawlessness and violence will be not tolerated by either party. The alternative — continued self-censorship — sends the unacceptable message that the individual second in line for the presidency is either too afraid to critique her leftwing allies or that she condones their lawless behavior,” McCarthy added.

Pelosi’s office did not immediately return a request for comment.

Nationwide protests sparked by the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who was killed in Minneapolis police custody on May 25, have led to a debate over whether statues of controversial historic figures including Confederate generals and Christopher Columbus should remain in place.

Republicans have largely been opposed to the removal or renaming of such statues.

President Trump recently signed an executive order aimed at protecting monuments and statues from vandalism, tweeting that those who deface statues could face an “excess of a 10 year prison term.”