Trial underway in Robert E. Lee statue case
RICHMOND, Va. — A trial was underway Monday afternoon in Richmond in a lawsuit seeking to prevent Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam from removing an enormous statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
The plaintiffs, a group of Richmond residents who live near the monument, filed suit after Northam ordered the removal of the statue in June amid the outcry and unrest caused by the death of George Floyd in police custody.
The plaintiffs argue that the Democratic governor does not have the authority to remove the statue erected in 1890 in the former capital of the Confederacy. They say doing so would violate the state Constitution, an 1889 act of the General Assembly and restrictive covenants in deeds that transferred the statue, its soaring pedestal and the land they sit on to the state.
“That the Governor now disagrees with the original message, or discerns a different message in the Lee Monument, does not give him authority to override the contractual obligations of the Commonwealth,” attorneys for the plaintiffs wrote in a court filing.
The state has argued it cannot be forced to forever maintain a statue it says no longer comports with its values.
“No individual Virginian — whether
living Monument Avenue residents or long-dead land grantors — may force the Commonwealth of 2020 to preserve the Lee statue in its present location in perpetuity,” Herring wrote in a court filing.
In court, Solicitor General Toby Heytens asked the judge to strike all of the remaining counts in the plaintiffs’ lawsuit and dissolve an existing injunction preventing the removal of the statue.
Richmond Circuit Court Judge W. Reilly Marchant said he would take those arguments under advisement and then proceeded to hear witness testimony.
The state called nationally recognized historian Edward Ayers, a former president of the University of Richmond.
Ayers discussed the central role of slavery in the Civil War and the development of Monument Avenue. He faced extensive cross-examination from one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, which was continuing Monday afternoon.
No matter Judge Marchant’s eventual decision, it’s possible the case could take even more time to unwind. It is widely expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court of Virginia, and an injunction could remain in place while that plays out.
Monument Avenue, a prestigious residential boulevard that once contained one of the nation’s most prominent collections of Confederate statues, was dramatically transformed over the summer. The avenue’s other large Confederate statues, which all sat on city property, were either toppled by protesters (in the case of Jefferson Davis ) or hauled off by contractors working for the city. Amid weeks of nightly protests, Mayor Levar Stoney ordered the statues removed, invoking his authority under a local emergency order.
The Lee statue, meanwhile, was transformed into a bustling hub of activity for demonstrators protesting police brutality and racism. The giant concrete pedestal of the statue is covered by colourful and constantly changing graffiti.