CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — A Confederate monument that helped spark a violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, has been hoisted off its stone pedestal and hauled away to storage. Work to remove the statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee began early Saturday morning. Crews also took down a statue of Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson. The removal of the statues follows years of contention, community anguish and legal fights. A removal push focused on the Lee monument bubbled up in 2016. The monument then became a rallying cry for white supremacists, culminating in the deadly 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in which a peaceful counterprotester was killed and dozens of others were injured.
John C. Clark/AP
Workers remove the monument of Confederate General Robert E. Lee on Saturday, July 10, 2021 in Charlottesville, Va. The removal of the Lee statue follows years of contention, community anguish and legal fights. (AP Photo/John C. Clark)
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