Tag: Robert E. Lee

Richmond judge extends order barring removal of Lee statue indefinitely

Washington Post logoRICHMOND, VIRGINIA — A judge has indefinitely extended an injunction that prevents the governor from removing the iconic statue of Robert E. Lee from state property on Monument Avenue, giving opponents more time to prove they have standing to challenge the removal.

Gov. Ralph Northam (D) announced June 4 that he would take down the Lee statue, which towers 60 feet over Richmond’s grandest residential boulevard, and put it in storage. The action was partly in response to ongoing demonstrations over police brutality against African Americans nationwide, which in Richmond have focused on the city’s extensive Confederate iconography.

On June 8, Richmond Circuit Judge Bradley B. Cavedo granted a temporary injunction to block the state from taking down the 130-year-old statue, responding to a lawsuit filed by a descendant of the couple who signed the deed giving land for the monument to the state. Continue reading.

John Kelly calls Robert E. Lee an ‘honorable man’ and says ‘lack of compromise’ caused the Civil War

The following article by Eli Rosenberg and Cleve R. Wootson, Jr. was posted on the Washington Post website October 31, 2017:

White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly called Robert E. Lee “an honorable man” and said that “the lack of an ability to compromise” led to the Civil War (Thomas Johnson/The Washington Post)

White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly on Monday called Robert E. Lee “an honorable man” and said that “the lack of an ability to compromise” led to the Civil War, once again thrusting himself into the public spotlight on an emotionally charged issue.

The comments, made on the debut night of conservative media host Laura Ingraham’s show on Fox News, came after Kelly was asked about the recent decision by a Virginia church to remove plaques that honored the Confederate general and George Washington. Continue reading “John Kelly calls Robert E. Lee an ‘honorable man’ and says ‘lack of compromise’ caused the Civil War”