With protests looming, Mayor Harry Rilling announced Thursday the city will remove the Christopher Columbus statue from public property. Rilling said the city was in discussions to relocate the statue when the Columbus Memorial Fund, a group that dedicated the statue to the city in 1940 and continues to maintain it to this day, “expressed concerns about the possibility of vandalism or outright destruction.”

“They asked the city to assist with moving the statue and we agreed,” Rilling said. “We felt this was the best outcome.” The city did not say if the statue would be removed permanently or relocated. “That’s a decision that rests with the Columbus Memorial Fund, who owns the statue,” said Josh Morgan, the city’s communications manager.