Charge Filed In Toppling Of Columbus Statue In St. Paul

SAINT PAUL, MN — A New Brighton man was charged Thursday in the June 10 toppling of the Christopher Columbus statue on the grounds of the Minnesota State Capitol.

Michael Anthony Forcia faces one count of criminal damage to property. While charges against other participants remain a possibility, Forcia was the "primary organizer, leader, and executor of the incident," according to the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office .

Forcia identified himself as chairman of the Twin Cities American Indian Movement.

"Given the impact of this action on residents across our state and the divisive reactions it has engendered, we believe administering justice in this case requires an extraordinary step — the active engagement and participation of our community," Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said in a news release.

"We are working on developing a restorative process to give voice to those divergent opinions and bring people who hold them together to determine how best we hold Mr. Forcia accountable while healing our community from the harm that was caused. By employing restorative principles in a way that unites rather than divides us, we have a greater opportunity to achieve true justice for our community, to respond more meaningfully and in due time, rather than waiting more than a year for an adversarial trial that would not provide adequate closure for our community and likely create additional division. The pursuit of justice should always seek to unite a community rather than divide it."

The estimated cost to repair the damage is $154,553, according to authorities.

According to the complaint, on the morning of June 10, the Minnesota State Patrol received information that Forcia had organized a 5 p.m. event via social media titled, "AIM rally against racism! Bring your drums!"

It was clear from the post that the event’s purpose was to remove the statue, police said.

When troopers arrived at the site, Forcia declared they were there to "pull the statue down," according to the criminal complaint.

Capt. Eric Roeske told Forcia about the process for removing or changing monuments on the Capitol complex and offered copy of Minnesota Statute 15B, which outlines the process.

Forcia said they had been through many processes before and that they were "taking it down today," according to police. By 4:52 p.m. a large crowd had gathered and, at about 5 p.m., the statue was pulled to the ground.

Forcia told police his hope was to have the statue removed as part of a larger effort to teach others about racism. He declined to name others involved in the June 10 protest.