Frontiersman 'colonizer' Kit Carson's monument toppled in Santa Fe

A sandstone obelisk dedicated to 19th-century frontiersman Kit Carson was destroyed just outside of a federal courthouse in Santa Fe, New Mexico on Thursday night.

This is the second time a monument has been toppled in downtown Santa Fe since 2020, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.

Sgt. Ryan Alire-Maez said that federal law enforcement would be heading the case, as the monument was on federal property. Police, who were called to the scene at 8:04 pm on Thursday, are currently searching for a suspect or group of them, who seemingly fled the scene on foot. A white older model GMC pickup truck was seen at the scene parked near the toppled monument with a cable attached to it.

“I’m outraged and I want those who did this to be caught and held accountable,” Mayor Alan Webber said in a statement condemning the vandalism on Thursday night. “Santa Fe Police are working with other law enforcement agencies to investigate this cowardly act. There is no place for this kind of criminal conduct in our community. We should all condemn it.”

Ironically, the mayor called for the obelisk's removal just a couple of years ago, with KRQE reporting that he specifically was doing so in response to threats of violence and vandalism. 

There have been other bouts of vandalism in recent times. Just a year ago, graffiti was painted on top of the sandstone as well as the box that goes around it. In 2020, the Carson monument was reportedly spray painted with red letters beside its base with the words: “Stolen Land.”

Kit Carson, the man the now-toppled monument is dedicated to, famously led the Union troops at the Battle of Valverde in Central New Mexico, per the Santa Fe New Mexican. The monument erected in his honor was acknowledged on Memorial Day 1885, with approximately 5,000 people showing up to see it. 

A tourist who was seen walking by the obelisk told KRQE that "there’s a very recent thing that everyone wants to erase our history of statues and monuments." He added that "you have to know about your history, you can’t just erase your history."

The Kit Carson-dedicated obelisk is over 100 years old. 

Social media users were seen celebrating the monument's destruction on social media, with one saying "f*ck that statue and f*ck that guy," and another saying, "destroying monuments to mass murderers is always morally correct."