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Robert E Lee statue: Virginia judge imposes 90-day injunction barring state from removing Confederate monument

'This statue will come down — and Virginia will be better for it'
PUBLISHED AUG 4, 2020
(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

A circuit court judge in Virginia has reportedly imposed an injunction barring the state government from dismantling a historical 21-foot-high statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee in Richmond. "The public interest does weigh in favor" of a 90-day injunction, Richmond Circuit Court Judge W Reilly Marchant wrote in his ruling.

However, Marchant, in a separate case, dismissed claims filed by a descendant of signatories to an 1890 deed that transferred the statue to the state, saying they were not "legally viable". He dissolved an existing injunction in that case. Plaintiff William C Gregory, who is reportedly the great-grandson of land donors, argued in court that the state had agreed to "faithfully guard" and "affectionately protect" the statue on the historic Monument Avenue per terms of the deed.

Protesters gather at a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee defaced with paint (Getty Images)

Alena Yarmosly, a spokeswoman for Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, said the governor appreciates the dismissal of the Gregory case and "looks forward to another victory in court as soon as possible." "This statue will come down — and Virginia will be better for it," she asserted. Northam, in early June, announced plans to remove the statue citing nationwide protests against police brutality and racial injustice in the wake of the death of George Floyd on May 25. While the court is expected to eventually clear the way, removing the 21-foot-high, 12-ton equestrian statue will not be an easy task. "A state board's removal plan calls for cutting it into three sections for eventual reassembly elsewhere," according to the Associated Press.

Marchant, in the property owners' case, recognized that the plaintiffs had the general standing to sue and then considered one of their five claims. He found that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed "under the common law doctrine of restrictive covenants running with the land." The judge said he would hear evidence and arguments on all charges at a later hearing, which is yet to be announced.

The plaintiffs — four of whom own property near the statue and another is a trustee of a property owner — claim that removing the historical monument could result in the loss of the neighborhood National Historic Landmark designation. This, in turn, would "have a substantial adverse impact " on the plaintiffs, "including the loss of favorable tax treatment and reduction in property values."

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring has filed a motion to dismiss the said lawsuit, and "remains committed to ensuring this divisive, antiquated relic is removed as soon as possible.”

(Getty Images)

Recently, the controversial monument made headlines after a so-called 'Karen' was caught on video hurling racial slurs at protesters because she was upset that a George Floyd hologram was cast over the statue on Tuesday, July 28, night. In the clip, an elderly woman wearing an oversized black top was seen getting infuriated after witnessing the hologram display.

When she was told to leave by a number of African-American men who were in the area, she started cursing at them, calling the city "mad" for organizing something like that. "You’re a f****** n*****," the woman was heard saying in the footage, before smacking the man recording the video. "Look at this n***** sh**."

“This is public property. This is my city,” she yelled, before being eventually escorted out of the area.

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