Fencing being installed around Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond amid court battle

Virginia’s Department of General Services (DGS) has announced it will erect fencing around Richmond’s statue of Robert E. Lee, which became nationally recognizable last summer as protesters graffitied the statue and its base.

Although the majority of Confederate statues have been removed from the city’s Monument Avenue, the Lee statue, the only one on state land, has remained amid a protracted legal battle. The state agency said the barriers are temporary and meant to ensure the safety of locals and workers as the court fight over the statue plays out.

“As we await the resolution of legal challenges that have delayed the statue’s removal, DGS wants to be prepared to act quickly upon a final determination,” the agency said in a news release, according to The Associated Press. “The fencing is not intended to be permanent.”

Gov. Ralph Northam (D) announced the state would remove the statue in the wake of the May death of George Floyd. In response, several residents of the city sued to keep the statue in place. An injunction is in place against removal with the lawsuit pending before the state supreme court.

Protesters previously tore down city’s statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, while the city has removed statues of generals J.E.B. Stuart and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson.

Virginia lawmakers last year separately voted to remove another statue honoring Lee from the U.S. Capitol. A state commission recommended the statue be replaced with one of Barbara Rose Johns, a plaintiff in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision.