Trump calls for crackdown after protesters target Andrew Jackson statue near White House

The current US president first threatened arrests when protesters tried and failed to topple a statue of Andrew Jackson in Washington DC

Jackson enslaved black people as a plantation owner and is remembered for the Trail of Tears, a deadly forced removal of Native Americans

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A row of police officers stand guard in front of the equestrian statue of former US President General Andrew Jackson after protesters tried to topple it. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:27pm, 23 Jun 2020Updated: 11:24pm, 23 Jun 2020

US President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans in Congress on Tuesday angrily decried efforts to remove statues and other memorials that activists consider racist, a movement that has gained momentum as part of wider national protests over racial injustice and police brutality.

Trump early on Tuesday announced an authorisation “effective immediately” to arrest anyone caught destroying or vandalising a commemoration to a former member of the armed services on federal land, citing the Veterans Memorial Act, which has been law for 17 years.

He first threatened arrest late on Monday night when protesters tried and failed to topple a statue of former President Andrew Jackson near the White House. Jackson enslaved black people as a plantation owner and is remembered for the Trail of Tears, a forced removal of Native Americans from the south that led to the death of thousands.

Protesters also declared a Black House Autonomous Zone across the street from the White House in front of St. John’s Church, taking over Black Lives Matter Plaza. They spray painted “BHAZ” on columns in front of the church, which had a small basement fire during earlier protests.

“Perpetrators must be prosecuted. These senseless attacks must be stopped,” Kevin McCarthy, the top Republican in the US House of Representatives, said on Twitter.