A judge in Richmond has put a 10-day halt on plans to remove a monument to Confederate General Robert E. Lee. The removal was announced just last week by Governor Ralph Northam during nationwide protests to end police brutality.
As recently as yesterday morning, crews were inspecting the 130-year old monument to figure out how to safely take it down. But later that same day a Richmond judge issued an injunction while a lawsuit makes its way through court.
The suit is based on a deed from 1890 that gave the statue, pedestal, and land over to the state. A descendent of one of those donors says the document obligates the Governor to quote “faithfully guard” and “affectionately protect” the statue.
The plaintiff’s lawyer did not respond to multiple interview requests.
University of Virginia legal expert Richard Schragger says the first question courts will ask is whether that language is binding.
“The language just might be a kind of instruction that doesn’t have legal effect,” Schragger said. “A kind of rhetorical flourish.”
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Governor Ralph Northam says the monument needs to come down. The administration’s legal counsel, Rita Davis, says they expected a lawsuit and are prepared to fight it.
“The Governor’s decision today to continue forward with trying to remove this monument takes us a step closer to reclaiming the truth of Virginia’s history and to reclaim it for all Virginians,” Davis said. “We look forward to defending that in court.”
For eleven days and nights the statue has become a rallying point for protestors against racism, and a memorial to victims of police violence.
Local organizer and activist Jasmine Leeward says the community is realizing the power of their collective voice and she doesn’t think their momentum will be stopped.
“I think the statue coming down is inevitable,” Leeward said Tuesday after news of the lawsuit. “I think that we are all ready to see something here that affirms and shows the value of everyone that lives here and visits here.”
Others suggest taking the monument down may do more to protect it than leaving it up. Over the weekend, demonstrators managed to pull down a much smaller Confederate monument in a nearby park.
