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Richmond judge extends order barring removal of Lee statue indefinitely

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA — A judge has indefinitely extended an injunction that prevents the governor from removing the iconic statue of Robert E. Lee from state property on Monument Avenue, giving opponents more time to prove they have standing to challenge the removal.

Gov. Ralph Northam (D) announced June 4 that he would take down the Lee statue, which towers 60 feet over Richmond’s grandest residential boulevard, and put it in storage. The action was partly in response to ongoing demonstrations over police brutality against African Americans nationwide, which in Richmond have focused on the city’s extensive Confederate iconography.

On June 8, Richmond Circuit Judge Bradley B. Cavedo granted a temporary injunction to block the state from taking down the 130-year-old statue, responding to a lawsuit filed by a descendant of the couple who signed the deed giving land for the monument to the state. Continue reading.

Categories: National Issues
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