The Italian American Civil Rights League (IACRL) slammed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) — who was recently announced as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate — for his response to rioters who toppled a statue of Christopher Columbus, calling Walz “an enemy of the Italian American Community” and demanding he drop out of the 2024 election.
“Tim Walz is an enemy of the Italian American Community. He has a long history of being in favor of erasing our culture. He strongly has supported the removal of Christopher Columbus statues,” IACRL board member Mike Crispi said in a Thursday X post.
BREAKING: Tim Walz is an enemy of the Italian American Community.
— Mike Crispi (@MikeCrispi) August 8, 2024
He has a long history of being in favor of erasing our culture. He strongly has supported the removal of Christopher Columbus statues.
We will call it for what it is: racism. @TheIACRL demands he drops out. pic.twitter.com/VBCtpNYbaM
“We will call it for what it is: racism,” Crispi added. “@TheIACRL demands he drops out.”
In his post, Crispi shared a statement from the IACRL, saying Walz allowed “roving mobs of left-wing criminals to destroy the State statue of Christopher Columbus.”
Democratic vice-presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks at a campaign rally on August 7, 2024, in Romulus, Michigan, with Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Under Walz’s leadership, “two people were killed, a police station was set ablaze, and hundreds of millions of dollars in damages were done,” the statement proclaimed.
WATCH — “Murderer” Spray Painted on Statue of Christopher Columbus in Central Park NYC:
NYPD Crime Stoppers via Storyful“Tim Walz did nothing to stop radical vandals from targeting the most prominent symbol of Italian-American culture in a flagrant hate crime,” Crispi said. “He knew they were coming and he did nothing to protect the statue.”
“His record as Governor of Minnesota is the most disgraceful record of any governor in the last decade,” Crispi added. “From allowing rioters to pillage and plunder to standing-down when the mob came for the Columbus statue, Walz allowed the North Star State to become an exemplar of cultural Marxism run amok.”
In 2020, protesters in St. Paul, Minnesota, toppled a statue of 15th-century explorer Christopher Columbus outside the state’s Capitol building by placing a rope around the statue and yanking it off its pedestal.
WATCH — New Jersey Replaces Christopher Columbus Statue with Harriet Tubman Monument:
City of Newark, NJ - City Hall via StoryfulThe IACRL board member also slammed Walz for keeping the Columbus statue down in order “to placate indigenous activists and other anti-Italian-American sympathizers.”
As Breitbart News reported, the origins of Columbus Day stem from efforts to combat racism against Italian immigrants, who endured everything from racial epithets to lynch mobs when they first arrived in the United States.
Today, in the era of cancel culture and wokeness, Italian Americans are facing a new type of mob that seeks to ban the federal holiday celebrating Italian heritage.
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