Italian-American groups sue over Philadelphia moves against Columbus Day and statues of Columbus and ex-mayor Frank Rizzo

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney and the city are being sued by dozens of local and national Italian-American organizations, CBS Philadelphia reports. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, involves the toppling of the statue of longtime Mayor Frank Rizzo, the boxing of the city's Christopher Columbus statue and the replacement of Columbus Day as a city holiday with Indigenous Peoples' Day.

The groups claim executive orders Kenney issued about the statues and the holiday exceeded his authority. "It just so happens that these days we have a mayor who's completely lost his way and is bent on humiliating and disgracing the Italian-American culture of Philadelphia, and we're not going to put up with it," attorney George Bochetto remarked to CBS Philly.