'DO BLACK VETS COUNT?': Protesters graffiti landmarks across Washington
Updated 14:22, 01-Jun-2020
Hong Yaobin
Spray paint that reads "DO BLACK VETS COUNT?" is seen on the World War Two Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, May 31, 2020, the morning after protests over the death of George Floyd. /AP

Spray paint that reads "DO BLACK VETS COUNT?" is seen on the World War Two Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, May 31, 2020, the morning after protests over the death of George Floyd. /AP

Numerous popular landmarks across Washington, D.C. were defaced with graffiti amid nationwide protests and unrest in the United States over the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man in Minneapolis who was pinned to the ground by local police.

Protesters enraged by the death of Floyd while in custody scrubbed graffiti on the walls and appearances of a number of monuments during the second consecutive night of "Justice for George Floyd" protests which began in the nation's capital on Friday.

"In the wake of last night's demonstrations, there are numerous instances of vandalism to sites around the National Mall," said the National Park Service for the National Mall in a tweet with photos of defaced monuments on Sunday.

Tweet of the National Park Service for the National Mall.

Tweet of the National Park Service for the National Mall.

"YALL NOT TIRED YET?" read the graffiti now spray-painted at the Lincoln Memorial, while the question "DO BLACK VETS COUNT?" appeared to be spray-painted across part of the National Mall World War Two Memorial.

The graffiti written on statues and sites around the National Mall in central D.C also included their pleas like "BLM" (abbreviated for "Black Lives Matter") and anti-police slogans such as "F--- 12," the numerical shorthand for police.

"For generations the Mall has been our nation's premier civic gathering space for non-violent demonstrations, and we ask individuals to carry on that tradition," read the National Mall tweet.

Spray paint that reads "YALL NOT TIRED YET?" is seen on the base of the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington early Sunday, the morning after protests over the death of George Floyd. /AP

Spray paint that reads "YALL NOT TIRED YET?" is seen on the base of the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall in Washington early Sunday, the morning after protests over the death of George Floyd. /AP

Netizens: Stone will be restored, but the dead can't

"I'm not particularly happy to see vandalism in the National Mall, but if said non-violent protest had worked the way it should have, we would not be in this situation today," wrote a user when commenting on Twitter.

The comment with most likes continued: "I wish a scrub brush and some solvent solution could restore the dead like it will restore that stone."

Comments on National Mall's tweet. /Twitter

Comments on National Mall's tweet. /Twitter

"The actions of the police are far more troubling than vandalism that will be erased by mid-week," said another Twitter user.

The Metropolitan Police Department arrested 17 people Saturday night, while 11 police officers were injured during the protests, said D.C. Chief of Police Peter Newsham.

None of the officers sustained life-threatening injuries, though one officer is undergoing surgery for multiple compound fractures to his leg after a protester threw a rock at him, according to CNN.

Carlos Farrar with the National Park Service power washes black spray paint that read "DO BLACK VETS COUNT?" from the World War Two Memorial in Washington, May 31, 2020. /AP

Carlos Farrar with the National Park Service power washes black spray paint that read "DO BLACK VETS COUNT?" from the World War Two Memorial in Washington, May 31, 2020. /AP

Major cities across the U.S. including its capital now begin cleaning up after the weekend of heated protests.

The death of George Floyd sparks widespread outcry in the country and Floyd's plea before his death evokes African Americans' painful memories.

In 2014, a cellphone recorded an unarmed black man, Eric Garner, repeatedly saying "I can't breathe" when a New York officer held him in a chokehold before his death in police custody. Since then, the plea has become a rallying cry at demonstrations against police misconduct across the nation.

For more:

Live: Protests escalate outside the White House after George Floyd's death