Bridgeport police suspect a communist group of using red paint to vandalize a Christopher Columbus statue in the city.

The vandals also spray-painted "Kill the Colonizer" on the statue's base.

Bridgeport Police Chief AJ Perez says similar incidents popped up in at least three other Connecticut towns. He says it's likely the work of a communist group called the Revolutionary Abolitionists.

"They want to change history in this country, and it's plain wrong," he says.

In Norwalk, someone sprayed the words "fake news" over another statue of Christopher Columbus. A representative for the Knights of Columbus chapter there says people should be able to debate history and Columbus' role in it -- but vandalizing his statues isn't a solution.

Statues in New Haven and Middletown were also defaced.