Richmond judge indefinitely extends order blocking removal of Robert E. Lee statue

A Richmond, Va., judge has indefinitely extended a hold on the removal of the city’s statue of Robert E. Lee two weeks after Gov. Ralph Northam (D) announced it would be removed from public property.

Northam announced June 4 that the statue would be moved into storage from Richmond’s Monument Avenue. Statues of Confederates and other figures have become a popular target for graffiti or toppling during anti-racism and police brutality protests that have occurred nationwide in recent weeks.

Circuit Judge Bradley Cavedo granted a temporary injunction four days later in response to a lawsuit filed by William Gregory, a descendant of the couple who signed the land on which the statue stands over to the state. On Thursday, The Washington Post reported, Cavedo ruled that Gregory had not proved he had standing to bring the suit but gave him 21 days to file a new complaint and said the injunction against removing the statue will remain in place indefinitely.

State solicitor general Tobey Heytens, meanwhile, argued there was “no basis as a matter of law for obtaining a temporary injunction.”

Joseph Blackburn, Gregory’s lawyer, argued a further delay is “in the public interest” and would provide a chance for “things [to] cool down in the city of Richmond,” according to the Post.

In his ruling, Cavedo seemingly questioned Northam’s authority to remove the statue, saying “To think the governor could take down the monument to George Washington and the founding fathers on Capitol Square, or the Houdin marble in the rotunda [of the Capitol] — I don’t think he has any authority to do something like that. It belongs to the people.”

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for July 23.

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring (D) said he was “disappointed” at the extended injunction, saying “the governor has the authority” to remove the “symbol of Virginia’s racist past.”

Several Confederate statues line Monument Avenue, many of which have been graffitied during the protests, including monuments to Lee, Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson and J.E.B. Stuart as well as Confederate naval chief Matthew Maury and Confederate President Jefferson Davis, which was toppled earlier in June.