Politics & Government
Judge Orders Delay Of Lee Monument Removal In Richmond
The order comes after Gov. Ralph Northam ordered the removal of the Confederate statue, which is owned by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
RICHMOND, VA — After Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced the intention of removing the state-owned Robert E. Lee Monument in Richmond, a judge has ordered a 10-day delay. The statue, the largest of the Confederate statues along Monument Avenue, was covered by graffiti amid protests against racial injustice after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
According to a report from the Associated Press, the temporary injunction order invoked a 1890 deed in which the Commonwealth of Virginia agreed to "faithfully guard" and "affectionately protect" the statue, pedestal and ground it is located on.
The commonwealth faces a lawsuit from a person descended from two people who signed the deed. The judge's order contended that the case should be settled before the statue is removed.
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Last week, Northam said he directed the Virginia Department of General Services to remove the statue as soon as possible. The department said in a statement it was sending crews to inspect the statue Monday but was not planning to remove it at that time.
"This is an old and heavy piece. The massive statue weighs approximately 12 tons,
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stands 21 feet tall, and has been on a 40-foot pedestal for 130 years," said the department's statement. "Meticulous planning is required to remove an aging monument of this size and scale safely."
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney also announced plans to introduce an ordinance on July 1 to remove city-owned Confederate monuments on Monument Avenue and elsewhere on city property in Richmond.
Other statues tied to the Confederacy or slavery have come down amid protests. A Confederate Gen. Williams Carter Wickham was removed after protesters knocked it down on Saturday, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. In Alexandria, the Daughters of the Confederacy removed their Appomattox statue on June 2. The City of Fredericksburg removed a slave auction block on June 5.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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