Statue of Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart Removed in Richmond

4 年前

Authorities removed a statue of J.E.B. Stuart, a Confederate general, from Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia, on Tuesday, July 7.

Video filmed by Richmond photographer Jim Robb shows the statue of Stuart, which was erected in 1907, being removed from its plinth.

On July 1, Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney used emergency powers to order the removal of all Confederate statues and monuments in the city. Statues of Confederate general Stonewall Jackson and naval officer Matthew Fontaine Maury were removed soon after.

Stoney presented two reasons for the removals to the city council, the City of Richmond said, which he later outlined in a video statement.

“Failure to remove the statues now poses a severe, immediate, and growing threat to public safety,” Stoney said, citing the risk of protesters attempting to pull the statues down, confrontations among protesters, and coronavirus transmission. Stoney said his and the governor’s declarations of emergency in the city had authorized him, as mayor, to make the decision.

The Confederate statues and monuments removed by the City of Richmond would be placed in storage pending a decision on their future, Stoney said. Credit: Richmond photographer, Jim Robb via Storyful