Vandalized statue of French King Louis XVI removed from Louisville

The mayor of Louisville, Ky., Greg Fischer (D), announced Thursday that a vandalized statue of King Louis XVI, for whom the city is named, will be permanently removed. 

Crews began removing the statue from downtown Louisville around 7 a.m. It will be relocated to a storage facility.

“Given the statue’s damaged condition, officials are concerned about further destruction, causing potential injury to people in the area,” Fischer said in a statement obtained by The Courier-Journal.

Any future plans for the statue will be determined after a conservation assessment, the mayor added.

HAPPENING NOW: A crew is slowly setting up scaffolding to remove the statue of King Louis XVI in downtown Louisville pic.twitter.com/WaCCQl9nCt

— David Guildford (@guildford56) September 3, 2020

JUST IN: @louisvillemayor says
the statue of King Louis XVI is being removed from its place at the corner of Jefferson and 6th streets “amid public safety concerns.” The statue is being taken to a city storage facility. pic.twitter.com/Z6TP9OM6KU

— Paul Miles (@PaulMiles840) September 3, 2020

The 9-ton marble statue, located in Jefferson Square Park, has been vandalized several times in recent months amid a national debate about monuments and memorials honoring controversial figures.

One of the statue’s hands was pulled off in May following ongoing protests over the death of Breonna Taylor at the hands of Louisville police in March.

Most recently, three people were charged with criminal mischief in June after police said they were caught spray painting it, according to the outlet.

Louisville is named after the king due to his financial support of the colonies during the American Revolution, the Courier Journal noted.

He and his wife, Marie Antoinette, were later convicted of treason and executed by guillotine in 1793 during the French Revolution.

The statue of monarch was given to Louisville as a “gesture of friendship” from officials in its sister city, Montpellier, France.