Demonstrations against racism, which began after the death of African-American George Floyd in police brutality, are still going on.
The demonstrators gathered in front of the Columbus statue, while Columbus is also accused of genocide.
Protesters demanded the removal of the statue, during which they clashed with police.
The mayor of the municipality, Lightfoot, said in a statement that the statue had been "temporarily removed" after protesters tried to remove it.
Large-scale "Black Lives Meter" protests erupted across the United States after the May 25 killing of black citizen George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. Dozens of people, including police officers, were injured in the violence.
