US: Confederate statue in Maryland toppled

A privately-owned Confederate statue at a Maryland church has been toppled and vandalised, according to police. The Capital Gazette reports that photos provided by Anne Arundel County police show that the statue at Mt Calvary Anglican Church in Lothian was ripped off its concrete platform.

The word "racist" was written in red spray paint on the platform and descriptive plaque for the statue of Private Benjamin Welch Owens, who served in a Confederate Maryland artillery unit during the Civil War. Police said the statue was last seen undamaged late Thursday. No suspects were immediately identified.