Portland’s elk statue saga continues as Patriot Prayer kidnaps replacement, ‘literal trash heap’ built instead

Portland has another new version of its famous elk statue, after protesters lit the original on fire and the Patriot Prayer group stole its temporary replacement. The latest iteration has already been branded “literal trash.”

The city’s original 120-year-old elk statue was defaced and set on fire on July 1. The city removed the statue and placed it in storage after it was repeatedly vandalized during the months of protests in the wake of the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in May. 

A makeshift metal replica, known locally as “nightmare elk,” was installed by unknown parties, presumed to be members of the Black Lives Matter protest groups in the city.

This past Saturday morning, Patriot Prayer supporter Chandler Pappas, along with a dozen or so friends, removed the makeshift metal elk.

“We took the elk as a political statement,” Pappas, 27, claimed. He was at the scene when his friend Aaron "Jay" Danielson, 39, was shot and killed on August 29 as a pro-Trump caravan paraded through Portland. 

“They’ve set a precedent. You can do what you want, you can take what you want, you can set fire to what you want, and that’s OK,” Pappas added, referring to Oregon State Governor Kate Brown and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler. 

Overnight, a new, temporary “statue” was erected, and reaction online has already been… somewhat mixed. “They replaced fine art with a literal trash heap. Did the right prank them into doing this?” journalist Cassandra Fairbanks said of the installation. “All those BSAs in Fine Arts – and this is the best we get out of them,” another commenter quipped.

Not everyone was so critical, however, with some posting messages of support such as, “I LOVE THIS,” “I like it” and “Gets better each time !!”

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