BREAKING: Christopher Columbus statue is toppled into a harbor by protesters in Baltimore as demonstrations are held across the country on the Fourth of July

• A Christopher Columbus statue was pulled down by protesters in Baltimore, Maryland, on Saturday
• Statues of Christopher Columbus and other historical figures are being targeted by anti-racism protesters across the country
• Several protests took place on Saturday as part of nationwide Fourth of July demonstrations  

Baltimore protesters pulled down a statue of Christopher Columbus and threw it into the city's Inner Harbor on Saturday night.

Demonstrators used ropes to topple the monument near the Little Italy neighborhood, news outlets reported.

Cell phone footage shared to Facebook shows two long fastened around the statue as a bustling crowd anxiously waits. 

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A statue of Christopher Columbus was toppled over by protesters in Baltimore as part of larger nationwide protests against racism and prejudice

Protesters could be heard cheering and were seen jumping with joy when the statue was pulled down

The group simultaneously yells 'pull' and the gargantuan statue is swiftly tugged onto the brick ground.  

Loud cheers can be heard and several protesters were seen jumping out of joy.  

From there, a group of protesters gathered around the now-broken statue, grabbed the ropes and began transporting it to Inner Harbor. 

Several people can be hear cheering off camera as the statue crashes into the water and appears to sink.

Protesters mobilized by the death of George Floyd at the hands of police have called for the removal of statues of Columbus, Confederate figures and others. They say the Italian explorer is responsible for the genocide and exploitation of native peoples in the Americas.

According to The Baltimore Sun, the statue was owned by the city and dedicated in 1984 by former Mayor William Donald Schaefer and President Ronald Reagan.

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Officers with the Baltimore Police Department search the Inner Harbor on  Saturday night for the toppled Christopher Columbus statue

A spokesman for Baltimore Mayor Bernard C. 'Jack' Young told The Sun the toppling of the statue is a part of a national and global reexamination over monuments 'that may represent different things to different people.'

'We understand the dynamics that are playing out in Baltimore are part of a national narrative,' Lester Davis said.

Statues of Columbus have also been toppled or vandalized in cities such as Miami; Richmond, Virginia; St. Paul, Minnesota; and Boston, where one was decapitated.