By Ryan King for the NY Post
An Italian American civil rights group lashed out at Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, dubbing him an “enemy” of the community and imploring him to drop out of the race, according to its board member.
The Italian American Civil Rights League (IACRL), which was founded in New York City and endorsed former President Donald Trump for the 2024 election, blasted Walz over his approach to rioters who tore down a statue of Christopher Columbus.
“Tim Walz did nothing to stop radical vandals from targeting the most prominent symbol of Italian-American culture in a flagrant hate crime,” IACRL board member Mike Crispi said in a statement.
“He knew they were coming and he did nothing to protect the statue,” Crispi added.
In 2020, as protests and riots broke out across Minnesota and spread across the nation, Walz responded to the statue’s demise by arguing that the perpetrators had “legitimate concerns.”
The statue had been on the state Capitol grounds, where it had first been unveiled in 1931 in part to push back against discrimination against Italian Americans at the time, per Minnesota Public Radio.
But rioters ripped it to the ground in June 2020 during a national reckoning on race relations in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death. It was later moved to storage.
“It was an act of civil disobedience that we need to make sure people feel that there is a proper outlet to address what are legitimate concerns around what they view as a genocidal monument that they have to walk through in their democracy,” Walz said at the time.
Crispi, who was a delegate for Trump at the Republican National Convention last month, faulted Walz for the ordeal.
“In order to placate indigenous activists and other anti-Italian-American sympathizers, Walz and his cronies colluded to keep the statue down,” Crispi said. “They hate the Western tradition that made America great and they will do anything to undermine it and destroy our country from within.”
Walz, who is a descendant of German immigrants from the 1800s, was unveiled as Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate Tuesday.
Republicans and allies of Trump have pummeled him for his record in Minnesota when rioters lit buildings on fire and wreaked havoc on Minneapolis and St. Paul.
“His record as governor in Minnesota is the most disgraceful record of any governor in the last decade,” Crispi chided. “From allowing rioters to pillage and plunder to standing down when the mob came for the Columbus statue, Walz allowed the North Star State to become an exemplar of cultural Marxism run.”
The IACRL had been outspoken in favor of Trump during the 2024 GOP primary, lashing out at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is Italian, and “disowning him.”
The group also hailed Trump on X as “the modern-day Columbus,” saying that “Columbus discovered America, Marxist radicals made it unrecognizable, and President Trump made it great again for millions of patriots.”
