Trump Warns: 10 Years in Prison for Toppling Jackson Statue

President Donald Trump issued a threat to anyone defacing a monument of former President Andrew Jackson, saying they'll face a decade in prison for doing so.

As protesters across the street from the White House spray painted the Jackson monument in Lafayette Square Monday night, in addition to defacing St. John's Episcopal Church, Trump called the acts "disgraceful" in a late-night tweet.

"Numerous people arrested in D.C. for the disgraceful vandalism, in Lafayette Park, of the magnificent Statue of Andrew Jackson, in addition to the exterior defacing of St. John's Church across the street. 10 years in prison under the Veteran's Memorial Preservation Act. Beware!" he wrote.

The protesters in Lafayette Square attempted to pull down the statue of Jackson, who served as the nation's seventh president from 1829 to 1837, even using ropes. They also wrote "Killer Scum" on the statue's base.

They were unsuccessful at bringing it down, and police moved in to both push them back and form a protective ring around the monument.

Several statues, many of them depicting Confederate figures, have been toppled or removed over the last week as protests that started with the death of George Floyd last month continue nationwide.

Trump doubled down on his threat Tuesday morning, tweeting that action would be taken under "the Veteran’s Memorial Preservation Act, or such other laws that may be pertinent."

"This action is taken effective immediately," he added, "but may also be used retroactively for destruction or vandalism already caused. There will be no exceptions!