Virginia to Remove Statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee

Virginia to Remove Statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee

Virginia to Remove Statue of Confederate General Robert E.

Lee Plans to remove the monument in the city of Richmond will be revealed Thursday by Governor Ralph Northam.

A senior administration official tells the Associated Press (AP) that the statue of Lee will be put into storage.

The official adds that Northam's administration will discuss plans to move it to a new location.

The move comes amid nationwide protests against police brutality and racism after the death of George Floyd.

Confederate monuments have become targets of Virginia protesters.

Besides General Lee, Monument Avenue has four other Confederate monuments.

They include statues of Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Confederate General Stonewall Jackson.

They have also been hit with graffiti messages such as "stop white supremacy." Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney has revealed that he plans to take down the other statues from Monument Avenue as well.

Levar Stoney, via statement Bill Gallasch, president of the Monument Avenue Preservation Society, opposes the decision to remove the monuments.

According to AP, Gallasch believes removing the statues will hurt tourism in Richmond and create violence between groups on both sides of the issue.