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Krasner: Frank Rizzo statue 'should have never been erected' due to 'racist' history

Published  June 1, 2020 10:57am EDT
Larry Krasner
FOX 29 Philadelphia

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PHILADELPHIA - District Attorney Larry Krasner has made a strong statement about the presence of the controversial Frank Rizzo located statue near City Hall. 

Krasner made it clear after the statue was defaced Saturday that it had no place being memorialized in Philadelphia. 

"So long as this monument to racist, unaccountable governance stands, we cannot achieve the justice and lasting peace we claim to seek. The Frank Rizzo statue should never have been erected, and should have been removed long ago," Krasner tweeted Monday morning.

On Sunday, Mayor Jim Kenney announced that Philadelphia would accelerate plans to move a statue of former Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo.

The controversial statue was sprayed with graffiti Saturday by protesters who also tried to topple it and set a fire at its base.

He said officials hoped to move it in “another month or so."

Rizzo, mayor from 1972 to 1980, was praised by supporters as tough on crime but accused by critics of discriminating against minorities.

His 10-foot-tall bronze statue outside the Municipal Services Building, across from City Hall, has been defaced before and was to be moved next year.

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