A monument commemorating the only president of the Confederacy was vandalized with tar and feathers this week, a local Gold Canyon, Arizona TV station reported Thursday.
The Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway monument sits along U.S. 60 and local authorities are investigating the incident, KSAZ reported. This is the second time a Confederate monument in Arizona was defaced this week and the most recent in a string of vandalism of Confederate memorials across the country.
Someone tarred and feathered the Jefferson Davis Confederate monument on US 60 east of Phoenix near Gold Valley. #Fox10phoenix pic.twitter.com/CLO2kJZg8f
— Steve Krafft Fox 10 (@SKrafftFox10) August 17, 2017
Closeup of tar and feathers on vandalized Jefferson Davis Confederate monument east of Phoenix. #Fox10Phoenix pic.twitter.com/7ltfxYPyPB
— Steve Krafft Fox 10 (@SKrafftFox10) August 17, 2017
The violence that broke out at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, when white nationalists gathered to protest the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue, has spurred on the debate over what to do with Confederate monuments.
On Thursday, President Trump proclaimed his position in the debate, tweeting that it is “sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and moments.”
Sad to see the history and culture of our great country being ripped apart with the removal of our beautiful statues and monuments. You…..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2017
…can't change history, but you can learn from it. Robert E Lee, Stonewall Jackson – who's next, Washington, Jefferson? So foolish! Also…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2017
…the beauty that is being taken out of our cities, towns and parks will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2017
His comments Thursday contrast what he said during the campaign when asked about what should be done with Confederate flags hanging at the South Carolina Capitol.
“I think they should put it in the museum and let it go,” he said in 2015.
Watch the local news report below:
Tar and feathers vandalized the Jefferson Davis Confederate Monument, near Gold Canyon on US 60@Peralta Rd, #Fox10Phoenix@5&6pm pic.twitter.com/Br43AEG2JJ
— Dave Stermon (@DStermonfox10) August 17, 2017
why is there a Jefferson davis statue in Arizona?!
Lot’s of white snowbirds perch there…
You beat me to it.
Putting aside for the moment the question of why there is a confederate memorial in Arizona in the first place, I want to know…
well actually, I don’t want to put that aside for the moment. WHY THE FUCK IS THERE A CONFEDERATE MEMORIAL IN ARIZONA IN THE FIRST PLACE? Is there also an SS memorial somewhere near Sheriff Arpaio’s house that we don’t yet know about?
The tar and feathering was a nice touch.