Baltimore Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young said Thursday he was not going to tolerate the destruction of property, warning those who toppled the Christopher Columbus statue near Little Italy that “if we identify them, they will be brought to justice.” Young’s comments are the strongest reaction from the administration since the Fourth of July incident. “We support peaceful protest. This is not a peaceful protest,” Young said. “It is unacceptable.”

The mayor — who lost last month’s Democratic primary and will leave office in December — said the protesters cannot “erase history. You learn from it.” Monuments, such as ones to the 15th-century Italian explorer, “should have something there to talk about what happened in the dark past.”