A statue of Christopher Columbus that demonstrators have been trying to topple in a Chicago park for the past week has been taken down, on the order of Mayor Lori Lightfoot. It was hoisted off its pedestal in the dead of night, around 3 a.m.

Two hours later, a second Columbus statue marked with graffiti was removed from the city's Little Italy neighborhood. 

Lightfoot said the statues have been "temporarily removed...until further notice" because of "demonstrations that became unsafe for both protesters and police." Last week, some protesters were seen hurling bricks and frozen water bottles at officers.

Lightfoot herself came under siege at her own house as a huge, peaceful crowd demanded the defunding of police. Other big city mayors, including Los Angeles, Seattle, Oakland and New York, have also seen protests come to their own homes in recent weeks.

RELATED STORIES

Thousands Sign Petition to Rename Columbus, Ohio 'Flavortown' in Honor of Guy Fieri

Protesters Topple Statues of Historic Figures, Including Christopher Columbus

America Returns Stolen Christopher Columbus Letter

U.S. Returns Stolen 500-Year-Old Christopher Columbus Letter to the Vatican

This video is unavailable because we were unable to load a message from our sponsors.

If you are using ad-blocking software, please disable it and reload the page.

Embed Code Restart

Now playing