Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Northam can remove Lee statue in Richmond, judge rules (but not immediately)
Source: Washington Post
Northam can remove Lee statue in Richmond, judge rules
By Laura Vozzella
10/27/2020, 7:05:00 p.m.
RICHMOND — Gov. Ralph Northam can remove this city's towering tribute to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, a circuit court judge ruled Tuesday. But the judge also halted the governor from acting immediately, allowing the group trying to preserve the statue to mount an appeal.
Circuit Court Judge W. Reilly Marchant found that Virginia is not bound by the terms of covenants dating from 1870 and 1890, in which the state agreed to forever protect the statue.
Northam (D) ordered the monument on state-owned land removed in June, as the statue became a focus of social justice protests in the onetime capital of the Confederacy. But before the work could commence, one person sued to stop it and a judge issued an injunction tying the governor’s hands. That case was later dismissed, but a group of residents living on or near Monument Avenue soon brought their own suit and the injunction was continued.
“The Lee monument was built to celebrate the Confederacy and uphold white supremacy,” Northam said in a statement after the ruling. “This victory moves Virginia forward in removing this relic of the past — one that was erected for all the wrong reasons.”
-snip-
By Laura Vozzella
10/27/2020, 7:05:00 p.m.
RICHMOND — Gov. Ralph Northam can remove this city's towering tribute to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, a circuit court judge ruled Tuesday. But the judge also halted the governor from acting immediately, allowing the group trying to preserve the statue to mount an appeal.
Circuit Court Judge W. Reilly Marchant found that Virginia is not bound by the terms of covenants dating from 1870 and 1890, in which the state agreed to forever protect the statue.
Northam (D) ordered the monument on state-owned land removed in June, as the statue became a focus of social justice protests in the onetime capital of the Confederacy. But before the work could commence, one person sued to stop it and a judge issued an injunction tying the governor’s hands. That case was later dismissed, but a group of residents living on or near Monument Avenue soon brought their own suit and the injunction was continued.
“The Lee monument was built to celebrate the Confederacy and uphold white supremacy,” Northam said in a statement after the ruling. “This victory moves Virginia forward in removing this relic of the past — one that was erected for all the wrong reasons.”
-snip-
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/richmond-judge-lee-statue-removal/2020/10/27/6fe87166-1893-11eb-82db-60b15c874105_story.html