A Virginia judge has ruled since the Confederate statues in Charlottesville are labeled as war monuments, they cannot be removed without permission from the state.
CNN reports Circuit Court Judge Richard E. Moore said people’s feelings about the Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson statues does not change the fact they are war monuments and therefore are protected under Virginia state code 15.2-1812.
“I find this conclusion inescapable,” Moore said. “It is the very reason the statues have been complained about from the beginning. It does no good pretending they are something other than what they actually are.”
The code states: “If such are erected, it shall be unlawful for the authorities of the locality, or any other person or persons, to disturb or interfere with any monuments or memorials so erected, or to prevent its citizens from taking proper measures and exercising proper means for the protection, preservation and care of same.”
The code specifically outlines how Confederate monuments, as well as Union monuments, are protected.
“For purposes of this section, ‘disturb or interfere with’ includes removal of, damaging or defacing monuments or memorials, or, in the case of the War Between the States, the placement of Union markings or monuments on previously designated Confederate memorials or the placement of Confederate markings or monuments on previously designated Union memorials,” it states.
The Charlottesville City Council voted to remove the statues after the violent white supremacist “Unite the Right” rally in 2017. The rally ended with many injuries on both sides from clashes and the death of counterprotester Heather Heyer.
