The victim is said to be in critical but stable condition, police said. (Representative)
Los Angeles:
A man was killed on Monday as a group of heavily armed militiamen attempted to defend a statue of American protesters in New Mexico, officials and the media reported.
Monuments linked to colonialism and slavery are overthrown and suppressed worldwide as protests against racism continue worldwide after the death in custody of George Floyd, an unarmed black man.
Protesters in the city of Albuquerque demanded the removal of a statue of the sixteenth-century state governor, the Spanish conquistador Juan de Onate, according to local media.
While trying to drop the sculpture, a small group of right-wing militiamen tried to protect it and clashes erupted, reported the Albuquerque Journal.
The victim is said to be in critical but stable condition, police said.
Police were investigating reports “of vigilante groups believed to be the source of the violence,” city police chief Michael Geier said in a statement on Twitter.
“If true, he will hold them accountable to the fullest extent of the law, including the designation and prosecution of federal hate groups,” he said.
Images in the American media show that the police apprehend a number of men, some dressed in camouflage clothing with guns.
“The heavily armed individuals who came forward during the demonstration, calling themselves” civil guard “, were there for one reason: to threaten the demonstrators, to present an unauthorized display of unregulated force,” said the governor. New Mexico, Michelle Lujan Grisham, in a press release. statement posted on Twitter.
“Let me be clear: there is absolutely no room in New Mexico for any violent” militia “that seeks to terrorize New Mexicans,” she added.
Albuquerque mayor Tim Keller said on Twitter that the statue was temporarily removed to limit risks to public safety.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
