Columbus Statue Focal Point for South Philly Right-Wing Mobs

Philadelphia, PA – Marconi Plaza has served as the gathering site for right-wing South Philly residents this past weekend. Members of the crowd were almost exclusively of Italian-American heritage, reflecting the ethnic composition and politics of some of the surrounding neighborhoods.

Two weeks ago the city of Philadelphia removed a statue of ex-police chief and ex-mayor Frank Rizzo. Five days later, on June 7, the city painted over the Rizzo mural that had been subjected to years of regular defacement by anti-racist and LGBTQ+ community members. Though in the 1970s Rizzo was celebrated as a success by local Italian-American residents, he was also responsible for the 1985 bombing of a Black residential neighborhood, home to Black liberation group MOVE.

Our reporter on the scene, Christopher Schiano, was assaulted multiple times on both Saturday and Sunday night by many of those who had gathered in Marconi Plaza. The tires to his bicycle were slashed on Saturday, and on Sunday one man damaged the camera Chris was using to document events.

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