Jefferson Davis Statue Tarred, Feathered

A Jefferson Davis statue in southern Arizona was tarred and feathered in one of the latest actions against what President Trump calls "beautiful statues and monuments" honoring the Confederacy. Police are investigating the attack on the monument to the Confederate president near Gold Canyon on US Route 60; it was erected in the 1940s by the Daughters of the Confederacy. Investigators have taken samples of the thick layer of tar and feathers coating the statue. "Somebody had to put a little thought into it, but this is going to cost a lot of money to clean up," area resident John Rogers tells Fox 10.

At the state Capitol in Phoenix earlier this week, a protester hung a second-place participation banner on a memorial to the state's Confederate troops and a ribbon with the words "You lost, get over it," the Arizona Republic reports. Other activists later painted "BLM" on the statue. State Rep. Reginald Bolding denounced the defacing of the two monuments, despite his strong support for removing Arizona's Confederate monuments. "Vandalizing these monuments is not productive," the Democrat said in a statement. "This will not lead to the civil discourse and debate that we have been calling for." (Efforts to remove Confederate monuments across the country have been stepped up after the violence in Charlottesville.)