The statue of Baden-Powell -- a British Army officer who critics claim was a racist without any proof -- has been labeled as a target for rabid protesters and police advised the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council to watch over it.
The statue was scheduled to be taken down last 11 June, but Mark Howell, the council's deputy leader, said there's been a delay in the plan because the symbolism behind the statue is "deeper than originally envisaged," according to reports by Sky News.
The statue, which is located on Poole Quay in Dorset, England, will be protected 24 hours a day "until it is either removed or the threat diminishes," Howell said.
The Scouts was founded by Baden-Powell in 1908 as an educational movement for young people.
Some who are against the removal of his statue say he is an integral part of British culture and the Scout movement he founded garnered 54 million members worldwide.
However, against the backdrop of protesters across the world fighting against the imagined racial inequities, spurred by the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, activists have said a symbol of someone who had views that oppose the leftist movement cannot be tolerated.