Confederate Monuments: Robert E. Lee Statue Begins Coming Down In New Orleans

NEW ORLEANS, LA — Heavy equipment began removing New Orleans' final monument to the Confederacy — the statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee — the New Orleans Police Department told Patch Friday. Unlike the first three statues, the monument to Lee, the commander of the Confederate army, is coming down during the day.

Streets near the city's Lee Circle – where the monument has stood for 133 years – were blocked off by early Friday. The city started removing the public landmarks in late April, following heated public debate and legal fights. (To receive more New Orleans news and alerts, please subscribe here.)

Dozens of people began gathering late Thursday and early Friday, as the city – for the first time – put out a release that the monument would be coming down. Removal of the three other statues to Confederate icons were not announced for fear of violence. New Orleans workers took down a Confederate monument to Gen.P.G.T. Beauregard early Wednesday, Patch reported.

Watch Workers Remove Robert E. Lee Statue

The city said in a news release Thursday the statues were "erected decades after the Civil War to celebrate the 'Cult of the Lost Cause,' a movement recognized across the South as celebrating and promoting white supremacy." Mayor Mitch Landrieu is expected to make remarks this afternoon.

"Citizens have a right to assemble and exercise their First Amendment rights to free speech and peaceful protest. We understand there are strong emotions surrounding this subject, and we ask that the public remain peaceful and respectful while demonstrating," the city said in its statement. "Out of an abundance of caution, the City’s Office of Homeland Security and the NOPD have taken extraordinary security measures and dedicated the necessary public safety resources to maintain law and order while protecting workers and all people exercising their right to peacefully protest."

The process of removing all Confederate memorabilia from public view has not been an easy one. On Tuesday, Louisiana's Legislative Black Caucus slammed a state House of Representatives bill that would make it more difficult to remove Confederate monuments, Patch reported. The Louisiana House voted Monday in favor of a bill aimed at protecting Confederate monuments across the state.

Photo by Gerald Herbert/Associated Press