The violence that erupted in Charlottesville over the weekend was prompted by the city’s desire to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee. That’s a legal battle that’s still unfolding in the courts and it’s far from settled.
Just because the Charlottesville City Council voted three-to-two to sell the statue of Robert E. Lee and remove it from a city part does not mean that’s going to happen. That’s because there’s a legal challenge filed by the Sons of Confederate Veterans about whether Charlottesville has the authority to do that. When council members voted on the issue back in February, Councilman Bob Fenwick warned that the vote might end up being a moot point.
“There is now no imminent action planned for the statue because of the legal filings, and the duration and outcome of the legal action is unknowable.”
Virginia legal expert Rich Kelsey says the city has a difficult case to make because the statute is probably covered by a state law protecting war memorials.
“What they are going to argue is that these aren’t memorials for the war or soldiers they are memorials to individuals and therefore statute doesn’t apply. I think that’s hard to prove, and I think that’s going to be a stretch.”
The final hearing on the legal challenge is set for August 30th. If the court rules in favor of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, the only way the statue could be removed is if the General Assembly passes a law to make that happen.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
