A Richmond, Va. circuit court judge has put a stay of 10 days on Governor Ralph “Coonman” Northam’s decision to take down an iconic statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
Concerned citizen William C. Gregory filed a lawsuit contending that the state promised to “affectionately protect” the statue when it initially annexed the land from Henrico County. The lawsuit noted that Gregory is the great-grandson of a couple who signed the original deed. The judge granted a 10-day injunction so his lawsuit can be adequately heard.
The statue has been in place since the late 1800s, which features the legendary general atop his horse on a majestic 50-foot base. Gregory’s lawyer, Joseph E. Blackburn Jr., argued in a court filing that the state “guaranteed” to “hold said statue and pedestal and circle of ground perpetually sacred to the monumental purpose” and “faithfully guard it and affectionately protect it.” The judge who signed off on the order is currently unknown.
Last week, Gov. Northam announced his intentions to remove the statue and put it into storage to appease Black Lives Matter rioters who have repeatedly desecrated the monument:
Virginia will remove a statue honoring Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in the city of Richmond “as soon as possible,” Gov. Ralph Northam announced Thursday.
“Today, we’re here to be honest about our past and talk about our future,” Northam said, adding: “We have to confront where we’ve been in order to shape where we’re going.”
The statue will be placed into storage, where it will remain until government leaders and the community can discuss its future, according to the governor.
“In Virginia, for more than 400 years, we have set high ideals about freedom and equality,” Northam said, “but we have fallen short of many of them.”
The statue will be removed from Richmond’s Monument Avenue, which is lined with effigies of Confederate generals. Of all the monuments, Lee’s looms the largest — and unlike the others, it is owned by the state, a six-story monument on a 100-foot island of land that the state also owns.
It’s up to Richmond, the Confederacy’s former capital, to decide what to do with the other statues; the city is in the process of determining what their fates will be.
“I know Richmond is going to do the right thing,” Northam said — prompting Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, who was standing near Northam, to nod his head vigorously.
“It’s time to put an end to the Lost Cause and fully embrace the righteous cause,” Stoney said at Thursday’s news conference. “It’s time to replace the racist symbols of oppression and inequality — symbols that have literally dominated our landscape.”
“It’s time to heal, ladies and gentlemen,” he added.
The courts have put a halt to the cultural genocide pushed by left-wing terrorists in Black Lives Matter and ANTIFA, and they have time to do the right thing and protect their history from the anti-civilizational hordes.