The Virginia Supreme Court declared the state can remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
Mediaite notes the attempt to take the statue down in Richmond was blocked by two lawsuits local residents filed who fought to keep it standing. The lawsuits argued a deed from 1890 and a General Assembly joint resolution from 1889 says the governor cannot remove a state monument from state property.
The Virginia Supreme Court ruled unanimously in both cases the state is no longer required to follow the agreement.
The justices wrote, “Those restrictive covenants are unenforceable as contrary to public policy and for being unreasonable because their effect is to compel government speech, by forcing the Commonwealth to express, in perpetuity, a message with which it now disagrees,”
Attorney General Mark Herring celebrated the ruling on Twitter, saying, “We have won the case to remove the Robert E. Lee statue from Monument Avenue. The Supreme Court of Virginia has dissolved all injunctions and the statue may now come down. A big win for a more inclusive Commonwealth!”
🚨BREAKING🚨 We have won the case to remove the Robert E. Lee statue from Monument Avenue. The Supreme Court of Virginia has dissolved all injunctions and the statue may now come down. A big win for a more inclusive Commonwealth! pic.twitter.com/Fdtl8wU0YB
— Mark Herring (@MarkHerringVA) September 2, 2021
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) released a statement responding to the ruling.
“Today’s ruling is a tremendous win for the people of Virginia. Our public memorials are symbols of who we are and what we value. When we honor leaders who fought to preserve a system that enslaved human beings, we are honoring a lost cause that has burdened Virginia for too many years,” Northam said.
He added, “I am grateful to Attorney General Mark Herring, my former counsel Rita Davis, and all those who worked so hard for this victory. This ruling is an important step towards moving the Commonwealth of Virginia and City of Richmond forward into a more inclusive, just future.”
Today’s unanimous ruling is about moving beyond the past. Step by step, Virginia is building a more inclusive future—where the Commonwealth glorifies the Confederacy no longer. pic.twitter.com/RjBkQ44BwC
— Governor Ralph Northam (@VAGovernor73) September 2, 2021
Northam announced plans to remove the statue in June of 2020. He explained, “That statue has been there for a long time. It was wrong then, and it’s wrong now. So we’re taking it down.”