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Trump went on to say his administration is going to \"consolidate various things\" for the executive order and referenced to \"very strong laws already on the books.\"

The Veterans Memorial Preservation Act, for one, already states a person who willfully injures or destroys memorials \"commemorating the service of any person or persons in the armed forces of the United States\" -- or attempts to do so -- may be imprisoned for up to 10 years.

\"That's a long time to have fun one night,\" Trump said.

\"PHOTO:
Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO: Protesters hold signs during a small rally in support for the removal of the Emancipation Statue at Lincoln Park in Washington, D.C., June 23, 2020.
>

But legal questions persist for statues and memorials to leaders who did not fight for the United States, such as Christopher Columbus and Francis Scott Key.

Trump's announcement comes as some protesters in Washington said they will try to remove the \"Emancipation Statue\" -- depicting President Abraham Lincoln with a freed slave kneeling beside him -- from the city's Lincoln Park on Thursday night.

\"PHOTO:
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
PHOTO: The Lincoln Park Emancipation statue that is drawing scrutiny depicting former President Abraham Lincoln standing over a kneeling freed slave, in Washington, D.C., June 22, 2020.
>

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., said Tuesday that she is introducing a bill in the House of Representatives to remove both statues.

ABC News' Ben Gittleson and Luiz Martinez contributed to this report.

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