NORTH END, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — A group called 'Hands Off Christopher Columbus' is traveling the country to demand that Christopher Columbus statues stay erect.
The Columbus statue in Christopher Columbus Park in the North End was vandalized and removed a few months back. 'Hands Off Columbus' said removing such statues is an insult to Italian-Americans.
Group member Frank Coconate argued that, because Columbus Day is a federal holiday, damaging Columbus statues should be a federal crime.
Coconate, who is Chicago-based, voiced his anger:
The Italian-Americans are pissed. They're mad, and they're going to do something about it. That I know in Boston, that I know in Philadelphia, that I know in Chicago, that I know in Italy. We're mad, we're mad. This is an insult.
The Boston Arts Commission is currently deliberating the fate of the statue.
WBZ NewsRadio's Karyn Regal (@Karynregal) reports
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