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'This shows these anarchists have no bounds' President Trump hits out after statue of black abolitionist Frederick Douglass is hacked from its base in Rochester and damaged beyond repair on the 168th anniversary of his Fourth of July address

President Trump has tweeted condemning 'anarchists' following the vandalism of a statue of black abolitionist Frederick Douglass l...

President Trump has tweeted condemning 'anarchists' following the vandalism of a statue of black abolitionist Frederick Douglass last night.
The statue, which was ripped from its base in Rochester, New York state, is believed to have been the first monument in the nation erected to honor a black American.
It was hacked from its plinth by Maplewood Park on Sunday, the 168th anniversary of one of Douglass' famous Independence Day speeches - delivered on July 5 in Rochester in 1852.  
Police discovered the statue dumped at the brink of the Genesee River gorge about 50 feet from its pedestal, with damage to the base and a finger. It is not clear who the perpetrators are.
President Donald Trump responded to the vandalism in a tweet this afternoon, stating: 'Statue of Frederick Douglass Torn Down in Rochester. This shows that these anarchists have no bounds!' 
The remnants of a Frederick Douglass statue ripped from its base at a park in Rochester, N.Y., Sunday, July 5, 2020
The remnants of a Frederick Douglass statue ripped from its base at a park in Rochester, N.Y., Sunday, July 5, 2020

Police remove the statue from where it was dumped at the brink of the Genesee River gorge about 50 feet from its pedestal
Police remove the statue from where it was dumped at the brink of the Genesee River gorge about 50 feet from its pedestal
Statue of Frederick Douglass ripped from the ground in Rochester
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The statue stood over the Underground Railroad where Douglass and Harriet Tubman helped shuttle slaves to freedom, said police.
In Rochester on July 5, 1852, Douglass gave the speech 'What to the Slave is the Fourth of July,' in which he called the celebration of liberty a sham in a nation that enslaves and oppresses its Black citizens.
To a slave, Douglass said, Independence Day is 'a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim.'
Carvin Eison, a leader of the project that brought the Douglass statue to the park, told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle another statue will take its place because the damage is too significant.
A statue of abolitionist Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass, the first monument in the nation to honor a black American, in Highland Park in Rochester, N.Y., May 20, 2005
Abolitionist Frederick Douglass, the first monument in the nation to honor a black American, in Highland Park, Rochester, N.Y., 2005. It was moved to nearby South Avenue last December
President Donald Trump responded to the vandalism in a tweet this afternoon calling the perpetrators 'anarchists'
President Donald Trump responded to the vandalism in a tweet this afternoon calling the perpetrators 'anarchists'
Formerly enslaved abolitionist Frederick Douglass is seen in this image circa 1850
Formerly enslaved abolitionist Frederick Douglass is seen in this image circa 1850
'Is this some type of retaliation because of the national fever over confederate monuments right now? Very disappointing, it's beyond disappointing,' Eison told WROC.
Douglass was born a slave, and became an orator and a leading figure in the anti-slavery movement.
Over the last 20 years of his life, Douglass served as marshal and recorder of deeds for the District of Columbia, as well as U.S. minister to Haiti.
President Donald J. Trump participates in the 2020 Salute to America at the White House in Washington, DC on Saturday, July 4, 2020
President Donald J. Trump participates in the 2020 Salute to America at the White House in Washington, DC on Saturday, July 4, 2020
Black History Month originally started out as a weeklong celebration that included Douglass' birthday along with that of President Abraham Lincoln. 
The statue previously stood inside Highland Park in Rochester, NY, before being moved to a more prominent nearby spot on the roadside on South Avenue and Robinson Drive last December, where Douglass' home once stood.

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