Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot ordered the removal of a statue of Christopher Columbus from the city’s Grant Park in the middle of the night to avoid a confrontation between police and protesters, the Chicago Tribune reports. Some of the city’s Italian-American leaders agreed with the move while others were disappointed and believe the move signals that the mayor has caved to activist demands. Lightfoot had previously disagreed with removing the statue calling it “erasing history.” A protest about the statue turned violent last week, with dozens of demonstrators and police reporting injuries after activists attempted to knock down the memorial.