Trump tweets ‘wanted posters’ of 15 people for attempted toppling of Andrew Jackson statue
- Four men have been charged for attempting to remove statue of former president Andrew Jackson from outside the White House
- Targeting of statues has become a rallying cry for Trump and other conservatives
US President Donald Trump called for the arrest of protesters allegedly involved in an attempt to tear down a statue of Andrew Jackson by tweeting images of their wanted posters.
Trump posted photos of 15 people the US Park Police said it is attempting to identify “who are responsible for vandalising property” in a park in front of the White House. A Black man in one of the photos is wearing a “Black Lives Matter” T-shirt, and a White man in another has a shirt with the slogan “I Can’t Breathe”.
The president on Friday circulated an FBI wanted poster with the images of the 15 people to his 82.5 million Twitter followers. On Saturday, individual tweets were sent for each person, mostly in a three-minute burst shortly after 6pm.
Four men have been charged for attempting to remove the statue, authorities said. Aged between 20 and 47, they were charged on Friday with “destruction of federal property” - a charge punishable by one to 10 years in prison.
The striking social media posts come as Trump intensified his verbal attacks on protesters demonstrating against police brutality that erupted following the May death of George Floyd in Minnesota.
The president in public remarks has increasingly stressed his “law and order” message, rather than focus on outreach or police reform, as he seeks to energise his conservative supporters at a moment when he trails Democratic challenger Joe Biden in the polls.
Trump also lashed out at the Black Lives Matter movement in an interview published on Saturday, saying its agenda was “extremist” and criticising New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio for floating the idea of painting the slogan on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, near Trump Tower.