New Orleans protesters rip down statue of slave owner and throw it in Mississippi river

‘People who are supposed to be heroes are not heroes. They’re traitors, and they should be gone’

Protesters in New Orleans tore down a bust of a slave owner and then took the remains to the Mississippi River and rolled it down the banks into the water.

The removal of the monument is the latest in a nationwide effort to remove statues and tributes to the those involved in the slave trade or to the Confederacy, as widespread protests against police brutality towards African Americans continue following the death of George Floyd.

New Orleans Police have arrested two people and are looking for a third in connection with the destruction of the bust of John McDonogh, which stood in Duncan Plaza across the street from City Hall.

Once down, the bust was dragged into the streets before being loaded onto two trucks and taken to the river.

The pedestal on which the bust stood remains with the word “racist” written under McDonogh’s name.

The drivers of the trucks were the two individuals who were arrested and taken to police headquarters, named as Caleb Wassell and Michaela Davis.

Mr Wassell was booked with theft, possession of stolen goods, inciting a felony and inciting a riot. Ms Davis was booked with principal to theft, inciting a felony, battery on a police officer, resisting an officer and possession of marijuana.

A video on social media showed dozens of people surrounding the bust which sat on a pedestal while some people pulled on a rope tied to the bust and another hit it with what appears to be a skateboard.

As the bust tilts and then crashes to the ground the crowd cheers. Another video posted on social media shows a crowd watching as the bust is rolled down the rocky banks of the Mississippi River and into the water.

Mayor LaToya Cantrell said in a tweet that the city “rejects vandalism and destruction of City property. It is unlawful.”

New Orleans took down four Confederate-era monuments in 2017 after a months-long process of contentious public meetings and demonstrations. But other controversial symbols remain. The city has started a process to discuss renaming streets named after Confederate figures.

When he died, McDonogh left a large portion of his money to New Orleans and Baltimore for schools, and many schools in New Orleans are named after him.

The McDonogh Day celebration in which schoolchildren across the city laid flowers at a different monument to McDonogh became the subject of boycotts in the 1950s. The ceremony was racially segregated, and African-American children would have to wait for hours for white children to lay their flowers first.

The Associated Press spoke with Gary Ballier, who drove to the square to see for himself that the bust was gone. He remembers the school ceremonies from growing up, and served in the military on bases named after Confederate generals.

He notes that a number of the streets in the city are also named after figures from the Confederacy. He says it is long past time for those to go.

“Our real history is known now and people who are supposed to be heroes are not heroes. They’re traitors, and they should be gone,” he said.

With reporting from the Associated Press