Judge Blocks Dem Gov Ralph Northam, Extends Injunction Barring Removal Of Gen. Robert E. Lee Statue, Report Says

A Richmond, Virginia judge ruled that the injunction blocking Virginia Governor Ralph Northam from removing a 21-foot-tall statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee has been indefinitely extended, according to Fox News.

Richmond Circuit Court Judge Bradley Cavedo said that the legal effort to stop the statue’s removal was flawed and gave the plaintiffs in the high-profile case three weeks to rework their lawsuit.

Cavedo noted that the Lee statue “belongs to the people” and set a new hearing for July 23.

The statue, which is a 12- ton monstrosity, has sat on the streets of historic Monument Avenue since 1890.

Governor Northan issued an order for its removal earlier in the month just after the protests and riots erupted across the nation in the wake of the death of George Floyd.

A June 8 injunction was in response to a lawsuit filed by the great-grandson of two signatories of the 1890 deed that transferred ownership of the land where the statue stands over to the state.

William C. Gregory’s lawsuit argues that under the terms of the agreement, the state is supposed to consider the statue as well as the area around it “perpetually sacred” and should “faithfully guard it” and “affectionately protect it.”

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There have been two other lawsuits filed related to the removal of Lee’s statue.

In one, six Monument Avenue residents claimed that removing the iconic statues on the historic street would decrease their property values and hurt tax incentives.

Since Northam’s June 4 announcement that the statue should come down, the spot has served as a rallying point for protesters and community members.

Today, graffiti covers the base and sides of almost all the statues built in tribute to Confederate soldiers on Monument Avenue.