A Christopher Columbus statue was beheaded in Boston overnight while another was torn down and thrown in a lake in Richmond in the latest protests to target a symbol of racial oppression.  

The statue on the North End's waterfront in Boston was found beheaded last night, with authorities investigating after finding 'pieces' of the statue near Atlantic Avenue.   

Elsewhere on the same night protesters in Richmond's Byrd Park in Virginia pulled another Columbus monument down with ropes, set it on fire and rolled it into a lake to cheers from the assembled crowd. 

The sculpture was brought down less than two hours after protesters in the state's capital gathered and chanted for the statue to go.  

The empty pedestal was spray-painted and covered with a sign saying 'Columbus Represents Genocide' after the statue was taken down.  

Columbus's arrival in the Americas in 1492 unleashed centuries of European colonisation, making him a symbol of conquest and violence to Native Americans. 

There was no police presence in the park, but a police helicopter was seen circling the area after the city-owned figure was torn down, local media said.

Activist Chelsea Higgs-Wise was among the protesters who spoke to a crowd in Byrd Park about the struggles of indigenous people and African-Americans.