Virginia protester ‘placed in coma’ after Confederate monument hits him on head while being pulled down

Footage of the incident shows the statue give way after being pulled by protesters

Footage of the moment the statue was toppled was posted online (alexsalvinews/ Twiter)

A protester is in a medically induced coma for treatment after being struck on the head with a Confederate statue that was being torn down amidst protests in Virginia.

According to a report by The Daily Press, demonstrators beheaded the four statues before tearing one down with rope on Wednesday.

Protester Chris Green was said to have been hit on the head by the statue as it fell, and lost consciousness. He was then transported to hospital, where he is receiving treatment for his injuries.

“There was a gentleman who was directly in front of the statue and when the statue finally did give way it came and fully hit him in the head,“ a witness, who was identified as the president of the local Black Lives Matter chapter, told WAVY News.

“And we could see that his skull was actually showing, he was convulsing on the ground, he lost a great amount of blood, and we’re just asking everybody to pray for that man right now.”

A GoFundMe page has been set up by the local Black Lives Matter chapter, 757, to help cover Mr Green’s family’s medical expenses. “Chris Green is a member of the 757 community who was severely injured during a demonstration at the confederate monuments in Portsmouth on June 10th 2020,” says the site. ”All proceeds will be given to his family to help with any medical expenses and anything else they may need going forward.”

Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Alexander released a statement advising people to stay clear of the monument and stating that anyone who attempted to scale it would be removed for their own safety.

“Tonight, an individual was seriously injured in an attempt to remove a statue in Portsmouth,” the mayor acknowledged in the statement on Wednesday.

“We are praying for his full recovery and hope that this incident will not be repeated in other localities. Again, in the interests of everyone’s safety, we strongly urge your co-operation in this matter.”

The forced removal of statues and monuments by protesters has been seen across the US over the past week as part of the reaction to the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died in Minneapolis after a white police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes.

Many protesters feel that the statues glorify figureheads of the country’s racist past.

The four statues were beheaded at Portsmouth Confederate Monument as protesters were frustrated by the City Council’s decision to put off moving the monument, according to The Daily Press.

House speaker Nancy Pelosi called for the removal of 11 Confederate statues from the US Capitol on Wednesday amidst growing campaigns across the country to remove symbols of the Confederacy.

Ms Pelosi said that the statues “pay homage to hate, not heritage.”