President Trump signed an executive order on Friday that ensures vandals and others who seek to destroy federal property are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
The order authorizes a penalty of up to 10 years imprisonment for the wilful injury of federal property and instructs the federal government to prosecute those who commit such offenses to the fullest extent of the law. States and local governments that refuse to protect statues and other historic symbols will be barred from receiving certain support from the federal government.
"The first duty of government is to ensure domestic tranquility and defend the life, property, and rights of its citizens," White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement. "Over the last 5 weeks, there has been a sustained assault on the life and property of civilians, law enforcement officers, government property, and revered American monuments such as the Lincoln Memorial. Today, President Donald J. Trump took decisive action to put an end to this lawlessness and protect American streets from vandalism and mob violence."
President Trump said earlier that such an executive order would be forthcoming. The president canceled a scheduled trip to New Jersey over the weekend to monitor protests in the nation's capital.
"Today, President Trump has taken swift action to protect and preserve our Nation’s history from mob violence by signing an executive order directing the enforcement of laws that carry firm penalties of incarceration for those found guilty of desecrating public monuments," the press secretary said.
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For days, rioters have set their sights on the Emancipation Statue in Washington, D.C. The statue commemorates the abolition of slavery and was paid for primarily from funds contributed by freed slaves and African American Union veterans. But today's leftist say the freed slaves built a "racist" statue because the slave depicted in the statue is kneeling before President Lincoln.
Nancy Pelosi has called for a congressional review to determine which statues should stay and which should go.
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