Ohio town proclaims itself a 'Statuary Sanctuary City' for statues of outcast historical figures

As protesters target statues around the nation, one town is becoming a statue sanctuary city for monuments honoring select figures. 

Newton Falls, Ohio City Manager David M. Lynch has signed a proclamation that states that the city will accept and display spurned statues of people including George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and certain other prominent figures.

"A Proclamation declaring that Newton Falls is a Statuary Sanctuary City and declaring a general amnesty for George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Ulysses S. Grant, Patrick Henry, Francis Scott Key, Theodore Roosevelt and Christopher Columbus as represented by the statues of these great leaders, and volunteering to accept these statues that have been removed throughout the USA and place them in a location of honor in our community," the proclamation says, according to a copy posted by 21-WFMJ.

“They founded our nation, they ended slavery, and established and protected our national parks,” Lynch said, according to Fox 8. “Yes, they had warts but they laid the foundation for what we have today,” he said.

Protesters in Baltimore, Maryland on July 4th toppled a statue of Christopher Columbus and dumped it into the city's Inner Harbor.