Two men arrested after Andrew Jackson statue vandalized in downtown KC, police say
Two men have been arrested after a statue of former President Andrew Jackson was vandalized during a protest Thursday afternoon downtown, Kansas City police said in a statement.
According to an email from Sgt. Jacob Becchina, a Kansas City police spokesman, officers were called just after 5:30 p.m. in reference to some protesters who were allegedly defacing the statue outside the Jackson County Courthouse in downtown Kansas City.
Becchina stated that officers saw from a distance two people who appeared to be responsible for the vandalism.
The statue had been spray-painted with expletives and the words “Slave Owner.”
After the crowd began to disperse, officers took the two people into custody. Both suspects, described as 25-year-old men, were being detained Thursday night as the investigation continued, Becchina said.
After the statue was vandalized Thursday, Jackson County Executive Frank White issued a statement, calling for the removal of both Jackson statues, which are located in front of the county’s courthouses in Kansas City and Independence.
