RICHMOND, Va. - A judge in Richmond has issued an injunction preventing Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s administration from removing an iconic statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee for the next 10 days.
The temporary injunction order issued Monday says the state is a party to a deed recorded in March 1890 whereby it accepted the statue, pedestal and ground they sit on and agreed to “faithfully guard and affectionately protect” them.
Northam last week ordered the statue of Lee taken down, citing the pain felt across the country over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis after a white police officer pressed a knee into his neck.
Related: Image of George Floyd projected onto statue of Robert E. Lee in Richmond, Virginia
Related: Gov. Northam: Robert E. Lee statue to be removed from Richmond's Monument Avenue
