Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Judge Blocks Removal of More Confederate Statues in Richmond
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
July 10, 2020

Share

RICHMOND, Va. — A judge issued an injunction Thursday barring the city of Richmond from removing any more Confederate monuments, a process that began last week after Mayor Levar Stoney ordered the statues cleared away amid weeks of protests over police brutality and racism.
Richmond Circuit Court Judge Bradley Cavedo issued the decision after a hearing in a lawsuit filed Tuesday by an unnamed plaintiff, local media outlets reported. The lawsuit asked for an emergency injunction to halt the removal of the statues and alleged that Stoney violated state law by ordering their immediate removal.

Richmond Circuit Court Judge Bradley Cavedo issued the decision after a hearing in a lawsuit filed Tuesday by an unnamed plaintiff, local media outlets reported. The lawsuit asked for an emergency injunction to halt the removal of the statues and alleged that Stoney violated state law by ordering their immediate removal.
“We disagree. We’re disappointed. We did the right thing,” Jim Nolan, Stoney’s spokesman, said in a statement after Cavedo issued his 60-day injunction.
During Thursday’s hearing, lawyers for Stoney said all the city’s Confederate statues have been removed in recent days, with the exception of one of A.P. Hill, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported. Hill’s remains are interred beneath the statue, which sits in the middle of a traffic circle.
Some sites where statues have been removed still contain a pedestal or remnants of the larger monument.
Also Thursday, Nolan said that family members of Black humanitarian and tennis legend Arthur Ashe have requested that his statue be removed from Richmond’s prestigious Monument Avenue.
“Ashe family members made the request during the recent period of civil unrest. The matter is still under consideration and we continue to have discussions with the family regarding their wishes,” he said in a statement.
Work to remove the Confederate tributes that dot this former capital of the Confederacy began on July 1, the day a new state law took effect granting local authorities control over war memorials on their property.

Richmond’s Robert E. Lee Statue Is on State Land

Stoney said he was invoking his emergency powers to immediately remove the statues instead of following a lengthy process outlined in the law. He said he was concerned about public safety amid continuing protests and fears that protesters could get hurt if they tried to bring down the enormous statues themselves.

Richmond’s largest statue left intact is on state land — a massive monument to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue. Its planned removal, under the orders of Gov. Ralph Northam, has been blocked at least temporarily by a court injunction also issued by Cavedo.
The judge criticized Stoney’s handling of the protests and his decision to remove the monuments, according to the newspaper. It reported that Cavedo said “rioters” were a threat to the public’s safety, not the monuments.
The judge also referred to Hill, as an “American war hero,” TV station WRIC reported.
Among the figures already removed are statues of Gens. J.E.B. Stuart and Stonewall Jackson, and Confederate naval commander and scientist Matthew Fontaine Maury.
Richmond’s largest statue left intact is on state land — a massive monument to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue. Its planned removal, under the orders of Gov. Ralph Northam, has been blocked at least temporarily by a court injunction also issued by Cavedo.
On Wednesday, an amended complaint was filed in that case. Cavedo had dismissed the first one but said he wanted the plaintiff’s attorney to have “another shot” at addressing issues of legal standing.
The amended complaint lays out in greater detail the family history of the plaintiff — a descendant of a couple who were among the grantors of the land the statue now sits on, which eventually became state property.
The lawsuit alleges that the plaintiff, 69-year-old William C. Gregory, would face “irreparable harm” if the statue were removed. A hearing in the case is expected later this month.
The statues were erected decades after the Civil War, during an era when Southern states were crushing attempts to achieve equality for Black people.
After years of little change, a growing number of these Confederate symbols are being removed, prompted by nationwide protests against police brutality and racism that appear to have inspired a profound shift in American thinking.

DON'T MISS

5 Reasons Early Voting Is Overwhelmed With Falsehoods

DON'T MISS

Christian McCaffrey Returns to Practice for the 49ers From Achilles Tendon Injury

DON'T MISS

California Sues LA Suburb for Temporary Ban of Homeless Shelters

DON'T MISS

You May Have Blocked Someone on X but Now They Can See Your Public Posts Anyway

DON'T MISS

Some Republican-Led States Refuse to Let Justice Department Monitors Into Polling Places

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Fatal NW Apartment Shooting

DON'T MISS

Fresno Murder Suspect Stopped in Las Vegas, Others Wanted

DON'T MISS

Trump’s Crowds Are Dwindling as His Campaign Winds Down

DON'T MISS

Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on Mexico to Curb Immigration

DON'T MISS

Music Legend Quincy Jones, Architect of Pop’s Greatest Hits, Dies at 91

UP NEXT

North Korea’s Long-Range Missile Test Signals Its Improved, Potential Capability to Attack US

UP NEXT

Visalia Rollerblader Suffered Major Injuries After Being Struck by Vehicle

UP NEXT

Fresno County Man Indicted for Possessing Stolen Guns

UP NEXT

On Elon Musk’s X, Dems Are an Endangered Species While GOP Goes Viral

UP NEXT

New Vehicles, Face Paint and a 1,200-Foot Fall: The US Army Prepares for War With China

UP NEXT

CNN Bars Pro-Trump Guest After His ‘Beeper’ Remark to Mehdi Hasan

UP NEXT

LGBTQ Supporters Drown Out Westboro Baptists’ Anti-Gay Message in Fresno

UP NEXT

The ‘Black Insurrectionist’ Was Actually White. The Deception Did Not Stop There

UP NEXT

Washington Post Says It Will Stop Endorsing Presidential Candidates

UP NEXT

What Happened When a Barber Told Trump About His $15,000 Electric Bill

You May Have Blocked Someone on X but Now They Can See Your Public Posts Anyway

48 mins ago

Some Republican-Led States Refuse to Let Justice Department Monitors Into Polling Places

54 mins ago

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Fatal NW Apartment Shooting

1 hour ago

Fresno Murder Suspect Stopped in Las Vegas, Others Wanted

2 hours ago

Trump’s Crowds Are Dwindling as His Campaign Winds Down

2 hours ago

Trump Threatens 25% Tariff on Mexico to Curb Immigration

3 hours ago

Music Legend Quincy Jones, Architect of Pop’s Greatest Hits, Dies at 91

3 hours ago

Big Pharma Backs Harris 6-to-1 Over Trump in Presidential Campaign Contributions

3 hours ago

Sanger Men Arrested in Connection with Slingshot Vandalism Spree at Businesses

3 hours ago

What Is Sierra Unified’s Plan to Boost Lagging Student Achievement?

3 hours ago

5 Reasons Early Voting Is Overwhelmed With Falsehoods

This year’s early voting period appears to be far more polluted with election misinformation than those in previous presidential races, acco...

22 mins ago

Voters cast their ballots at Desert Breeze Community Center in Las Vegas during the last day of in-person early voting in Nevada on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024. Nearly 75 million people have cast early ballots, making their voices heard amid worry about the process, the outcome and democracy itself. (Bridget Bennett/The New York Times)
22 mins ago

5 Reasons Early Voting Is Overwhelmed With Falsehoods

30 mins ago

Christian McCaffrey Returns to Practice for the 49ers From Achilles Tendon Injury

34 mins ago

California Sues LA Suburb for Temporary Ban of Homeless Shelters

48 mins ago

You May Have Blocked Someone on X but Now They Can See Your Public Posts Anyway

54 mins ago

Some Republican-Led States Refuse to Let Justice Department Monitors Into Polling Places

Gerrick Franklin (pictured), 34, was taken into custody Sunday in Madera County on suspicion of killing Tyler Hamon, 33. (Fresno PD)
1 hour ago

Fresno Police Arrest Suspect in Fatal NW Apartment Shooting

2 hours ago

Fresno Murder Suspect Stopped in Las Vegas, Others Wanted

Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, on stage during a campaign rally in Lititz, Pa., on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. Trump told supporters on Sunday that he “shouldn’t have left” the White House at the end of his term during an end-of-campaign rally where he vented angrily about a spate of new public polls showing him losing ground to Vice President Kamala Harris and joked about reporters being shot at. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)
2 hours ago

Trump’s Crowds Are Dwindling as His Campaign Winds Down

Search

Send this to a friend