Woke Portland mayor accused of demeaning insult to Abraham Lincoln amid plans to restore statue toppled during 2020 George Floyd riots

By EMMA RICHTER, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Published: 16:48, 29 July 2026 | Updated: 16:58, 29 July 2026 The mayor of Portland, Oregon, is getting fierce pushback from locals after the city announced that it will be redesigning the Abraham Lincoln statue that was toppled over during the 2020 George Floyd demonstrations.  The monument, which was vandalized and knocked to the ground after Floyd was murdered by Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis police officer, once stood on a tall pedestal six years ago.  But now, the newly designed monument will be displayed in early 2027 on a lower podium in an effort to make it 'closer to the public,' which has caused major backlash among residents who think the statue should be on its original, taller pedestal. The news was shared in June in an announcement from the city's Office of Arts & Culture, which is overseeing the statues's 2027 return.  'The City's monument of President Lincoln will be installed on a seismically upgraded base that is lower to the ground and feature new contextual elements including historical narrative text with QR codes, interpretive panels and site markers to bring the Abraham Lincoln monument closer to the public,' the announcement stated.  The decision has not sat well with many people, including 43 Portlanders who shared their disdain for the new statue in a letter sent to Mayor Keith Wilson last month, arguing that the redesign of the century-old bronze monument is insulting, according to The Oregonian.  Columbia Sportswear CEO Tim Boyle and Jordan Schnitzer, a businessman and one of the wealthiest people in the state, are two of the people included in the letter, the outlet said.  In it, they suggested that the monument should return as it was, or not at all.   The Abraham Lincoln statue that was toppled over in October 2020 during the racial injustice demonstrations following the death of George Floyd will be reinstalled in 2027 The decision has not sat well with many people, including 43 Portlanders who shared their disdain for the new statue in a letter sent to Mayor Keith Wilson (pictured) last month, arguing that not returning the hundred-year-old bronze monument is insulting 'The act of removing Lincoln from his pedestal has a universally understood meaning; it is a demeaning gesture which permanently humiliates the person it commemorates,' the letter obtained by the outlet stated.  The 10ft statue was pushed over and vandalized by protesters on October 11, 2020, during a wave of racial injustice demonstrations following the death of Floyd.  George Floyd was murdered by Derek Chauvin , a white Minneapolis police officer, on May 25, 2020 The specific incident was carried out as part of the 'Indigenous Peoples Day of Rage' protest that targeted the late president for his role in the 1862 execution of 38 Dakota men.  The men, who were all part of the Indigenous Sioux Nation Native American tribe, were hanged on December 26, 1862, in Mankato, Minnesota.  It followed the US – Dakota War and went down in history as the largest mass execution in the country.  During the demonstration, protestors spray-painted the base of the statue with the words 'DAKOTA 38'.  The plan to reinstate the statue occurred in 'near-secrecy' after the Portland Office of Arts and Culture and the Regional Arts & Culture Council decided to do so on December 18, 2025, but never announced it to the public, The NW Examiner reported in June.  'The plan is to place the statue on the ground, sited in front of its pedestal, and to its left as you face the pedestal from the north,' the minutes from the meeting said, the outlet said.  The newly designed monument will be displayed in early 2027 on a lower podium in an effort to make it 'closer to the public' Columbia Sportswear CEO Tim Boyle (left),and Jordan Schnitzer, a businessman and one of the wealthiest people in the state, were included in the letter to Wilson William J Hawkins III, a preservation expert in Portland, said the new plan was never mentioned to planners.  'The toppling of Lincoln in October 2020 was an initial act of disrespect and lawlessness, and the permanent removal of Lincoln from his plinth is also a transparent act of disrespect,' Hawkins III said.  He added: 'We now see that they knew this plan would be met with rightful objections.'  The Daily Mail contacted the Office of Arts & Culture and Wilson for comment.