Christopher Columbus statue in Rhode Island that was removed after protests in 2020 quietly finds a new home. 'It's American history,' the mayor said.

• A Christopher Columbus statue removed from a park in 2020 has a new home.
• Columbus statues became targets of vandalism during widespread protests in 2020.

A controversial Christopher Columbus statue in Providence, Rhode Island that activists thought the city had permanently removed was actually only picked up and relocated — to a park just nine miles away.

The city originally took down the statue after vandalism in the wake of George Floyd's killing in 2020.

Statues of Columbus and early-American political leaders became targets of vandalism in 2020 after Minneapolis police killed George Floyd, a Black man, by kneeling on his neck.

In the wake of Floyd's murder, protesters throughout the country called for the removal of statues of Columbus, Confederate leaders, and others. They said the explorer was responsible for the genocide and exploitation of native people.

Protesters toppled one statue in Baltimore and threw it into the harbor, while protesters in Chicago clashed with police as they tried to tear down a Columbus statue there.

Vandals first doused the Christopher Columbus statue in Providence with red paint in 2019 and placed a sign in front of it that said, "Stop celebrating genocide." The city finally removed the statue after the vandalism continued.

But now, three years later, it's back again. This time in a slightly different location in the nearby town of Johnston, the Associated Press reported.

Johnston Mayor Joseph Polisena Jr. said residents of the town are excited to have the statue there, adding that the town's population is heavily Italian, the AP reported.

"It's important and not just for Italian Americans. It's American history," Polisena said. "It's world history. If you look at it from a historical perspective."

Polisena told the AP he understands the criticism of Columbus but doesn't think it's fair to compare his life to the moral standards of the current day.