Far-left Philly mayor not happy that Columbus statue — covered by box since 2020 rioting — has been ordered uncovered by court



Jim Kenney, the far-left mayor of Philadelphia, is not happy that a city statue of Christopher Columbus — covered by a box since the height of 2020 rioting on the heels of George Floyd's death — has been ordered uncovered by a court.

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled Friday that the plywood box that's been covering the statue at Marconi Plaza in south Philly since June 2020 must be removed, PhillyVoice said.

What's the background?

City officials had the monument covered after an armed group protecting the statue threw down with another group demanding its removal, the outlet said.

Indeed, about 100 people guarded the statue from potential vandalism on June 13-14, 2020 — and wielded bats, golf clubs, sticks, and guns to convince those who might hold opposite opinions to stay away.

During the prior week, protesters across America beheaded, toppled, and vandalized statues and monuments in their fury over Floyd's death. Meanwhile Philly leftists ignorantly vandalized the statue of Matthias Baldwin — an abolitionist — outside City Hall, spray-painting "murderer" and "colonizer" on its pedestal.

At the time, Kenney indirectly referred to the behavior of those guarding the Columbus statue as "vigilantism," and District Attorney Larry Krasner called the statue defenders "criminal bullies."

The Friends of Marconi Plaza sued to have the Columbus statue displayed again, PhillyVoice said. But Kenney had ordered the statue’s removal, WTXF-TV reported, calling it a matter of public safety. Kenney also said Columbus — revered for centuries as an explorer — had a "much more infamous" history and treated Indigenous people with brutality, the station said.

A judge last year reversed the city’s decision to remove the statue, saying officials failed to provide evidence that the move was necessary to protect the public, WTXF said.

"It is baffling to this court as to how the City of Philadelphia wants to remove the Statue without any legal basis," Judge Paula Patrick wrote, according to the station. "The City’s entire argument and case is devoid of any legal foundation."

In October, the city painted the box with the colors of the Italian flag ahead of Columbus Day, the station said.

'Very disappointed'

After the court's ruling to remove the box covering the statue, Kenney's office released a statement, WTXF said.

"We are very disappointed in the Court’s ruling," the statement read, according to the station. "We continue to believe that the Christopher Columbus statue, which has been a source of controversy in Philadelphia, should be removed from its current position at Marconi Plaza. We are continuing to review the Court’s latest ruling and are working to comply with the Court’s orders, including unboxing. While we will respect this decision, we will also continue to explore our options for a way forward that allows Philadelphians to celebrate their heritage and culture while respecting the histories and circumstances of everyone’s different backgrounds."

No 'tryants or dictators'

But George Bochetto — attorney for Friends of Marconi Plaza — had a different reaction to the court's ruling: "Today's ruling stands for the proposition that we do not elect as our mayor tyrants or dictators. We elect representatives who are supposed to obey the law and follow the law."

Court rules box covering Columbus statue in South Philadelphia must be removedyoutu.be

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said 'my d**k is bigger than yours ... I have the biggest d**k in Chicago' amid tirade over Columbus statue, lawsuit alleges



Far-left Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot is accused in a lawsuit of berating a pair of Chicago Park District attorneys in 2021 over the city's controversial Christopher Columbus statue and telling the two men "my d**k is bigger than yours ... I have the biggest d**k in Chicago."

What's the background?

Lightfoot ordered the Columbus statue removed from Arrigo Park in 2020 after it was vandalized amid the George Floyd protests, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans sued the Chicago Park District — which owns the statue — in an attempt to get it back in the park.

The lawsuit noted that the park district reached an agreement giving the Italian-American group temporary possession of the statue so it could be shown in the city's 2021 Columbus Day Parade.

But the lawsuit added that two days before the parade, Lightfoot told "a leading representative of the Italian American Community that the Columbus statue should not be shown in the Columbus Day parade, even for 20 minutes, and that unless he promised that the statue would not be in the parade she was going to pull the permit for the entire Columbus Day parade. The representative agreed and the statue was not used in the parade."

'I have the biggest d**k in Chicago'

The lawsuit also alleges that on the evening of Columbus Day, Lightfoot had a Zoom call with a number of officials, including park district general counsel Timothy King and the lawsuit's plaintiff, George Smyrniotis, then-deputy general counsel for the park district.

The suit said Lightfoot berated Smyrniotis and King, saying, "You d**ks, what the f*** were you thinking?” In addition, according to the suit, Lightfoot accused King and Smyrniotis of making “some kind of secret agreement with Italians, what you are doing, you are out there measuring your d**ks with the Italians seeing [who's] got the biggest d**k, you are out there stroking your d**ks over the Columbus statue, I am trying to keep Chicago Police officers from being shot, and you are trying to get them shot. My d**k is bigger than yours and the Italians, I have the biggest d**k in Chicago.”

Smyrniotis claims in the lawsuit that Lightfoot defamed him with “crude, insulting, false, and disrespectful statements," even asking him, “Where did you go to law school? Did you even go to law school? Do you even have a law license?” In addition, the lawsuit alleges that Lightfoot told Smyrniotis: “Get that f***ing statue back before noon tomorrow, or I am going to have you fired.”

In addition, Smyrniotis' suit claims he suffered a damaged reputation, was portrayed in a false light, suffered impairment of his ability to perform his job and great emotional distress, and that he was forced to resign last month. He's seeking monetary damages.

'Astounded'

Ron Onesti, president of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans, told the Chicago Sun-Times he's outraged by what Lightfoot is accused of saying in the lawsuit.

“I’m literally beside myself with amazement. Even though she’s shown signs of this type of behavior in the past, I can’t believe, number one, that she would talk to her attorneys this way. How do you talk to anybody this way?” Onesti wondered to the paper, adding that "it's offensive. We’re Chicagoans first. That’s our mayor. And our mayor is talking about her constituency that way. About an ethnic group that way. A very large ethnic group. There isn’t an ethnic group that deserves that kind of vulgar referencing. ... I’m astounded . . . It’s embarrassing, and it’s insensitive.”

The Sun-Times said Onesti demanded Lightfoot issue an immediate apology and that he had been “on the verge of demanding the mayor’s resignation."

“I’ve got to say it’s practically irreparable. That’s why I’m teetering on the apology issue. Because, for her to apologize — I mean, there is irreparable damage,” Onesti added to the paper.

What did the mayor's office have to say?

The mayor’s office had no comment on the lawsuit or on Onesti’s demand for an apology, the Sun-Times reported, adding that the city law department on Thursday added that it “has not yet been served with a complaint and will have no further comment as the matter is now in litigation.”

It wouldn't be the first time

This wouldn't be the first time that Lightfoot has gotten verbally nasty or profane in the heat of political battle.

Amid a spike in city violence in June 2020 following George Floyd's death, Lightfoot held a meeting with city officials, and Alderman Raymond Lopez (15th Ward) demanded she answer his concerns before Lightfoot told him, "I think you're 100% full of s**t."

But Lopez didn't back down: "F*** you, then. Who are you to tell me I'm full of s**t? Maybe you should come out and see what's going on."

Lightfoot replied that Lopez's comment was "the stupidest thing I have ever heard. I understand you want to preen." Lopez, however, was undeterred: "Mayor, you need to check your f***ing attitude. That's what you need to do."

In April 2020, amid lockdowns of non-essential businesses, Lightfoot got testy with reporters who questioned why she got a haircut they were banned for everyone else: "I'm the public face of this city. I'm on national media, and I'm out in the public eye. I'm a person who, I take my personal hygiene very seriously. As I said, I felt like I needed to have a haircut. I'm not able to do that myself, so I got a haircut. You want to talk more about that?"

A bullying email Lightfoot sent to her then-scheduler in January 2021 — in which the mayor demanded more "office time" and repeated sentences over and over — actually drew comparisons to a creepy scene from iconic horror film "The Shining."

Oh, and in late May 2020 Lightfoot infamously directed an expletive — well, two letters anyway — at then-President Donald Trump for calling Minneapolis rioters "THUGS" and tweeting "when the looting starts, the shooting starts."

She added, "I will code what I really want to say to Donald Trump. It's two words. It begins with F, and it ends with U."