Chicago removes Columbus statue from Grant Park in dead of night: reports

Workers arrived under cover of darkness early Friday to remove a Christopher Columbus statue from Chicago’s Grant Park – a week after rioters clashed with city police as they attempted to tear the statue down.
The statue was being removed partly to de-escalate tensions between protesters and police as unrest continues in the nation’s third-largest city, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Videos and still images posted on social media showed the statue draped in a cloth as a crane pulled up to dislodge the statue from a pedestal before driving off.
Where the statue would be stored – and whether it will return anytime soon – wasn’t immediately known.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was considering removing a statue of Christopher Columbus from Grant Park as early as Thursday night, reports said.

Last Friday multiple police officers were injured and several arrests were made during a tense protest in which demonstrators tried to pull down the statue, FOX 32 in Chicago reported.
On Thursday, reports said Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot planned to have the statue -- as well as another Columbus statue in Little Italy – removed as early as Thursday night.