Detroit Christopher Columbus statue defaced on Columbus Day

ABC7 reports that the statue, sitting downtown at Jefferson and Randolph, now features a hatchet with blood pouring down its frame. The Christopher Columbus statue near City Hall was vandalized by someone who planted an ax right in the middle of Columbus’s head (with tape) and splashed the statue with red paint, according the Detroit Free Press’s Daniel Bethencourt.

Columbus Day has been under a lot of fire – not only recently, but in past times.

The bust was created by Italian artist Augusto Rivalta and was dedicated on Columbus Day in 1910. But honoring the Italian explorer and colonizer is becoming increasingly controversial.

Columbus has been accused of enslaving and discriminating against the first tribes he encountered on his 15th century voyages to North America. “They’re trying to call it Indigenous People’s Day”, a man is overheard saying during their Detroit visit. South Dakota already celebrates Native American Day.

That statue is more than 100 hundred years old.

A photo of the vandalized statue was uploaded to Reddit’s r/Detroit forum with the title “Someone’s not that excited to celebrate Columbus Day”.