Richmond Set to Remove Last Confederate Monument on Public Property

Richmond plans to begin removing a statue of A.P. Hill this week. The statue is the city’s last Confederate monument standing on public property and the base contains remains of the general, which has delayed the process to remove the monument.

On Thursday, Richmond Circuit Court Judge David Cheek Sr. denied a motion from some Hill descendants seeking to block removal of the monument while the appeal over who gets to keep the monument continues. Richmond Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Robert Steidel told 8News the removal process will begin Monday. Hill’s remains will go to Fairview Cemetery in Culpeper, and Hill’s statue will be stored while an expected appeal plays out; Hill’s descendants want the statue to go to Cedar Mountain Battlefield, near the cemetery that is expected to be Hill’s final final resting place.

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Court Dismisses Lawsuit over McAuliffe Election Paperwork Signature

A Richmond judge dismissed a lawsuit over a missing signature on Terry McAuliffe’s election paperwork on Wednesday. Attorney Amina Matheny said she’s appealing the lawsuit to the Virginia Supreme Court.

“Our position was that the Department of Elections should not have accepted an unsigned declaration of candidacy,” Matheny said, “And the judge ruled that candidates do not have to sign the declaration of candidacy.”

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Virginia State Senator Sues Democratic Leaders Over Public Access to Office Building

Republican Senator Bill DeSteph (R-Virginia Beach) is suing Democratic legislative leaders over plans to restrict the public’s access to the Pocahontas Building during the upcoming regular session due to a rise in COVID-19 numbers.

On Tuesday, DeSteph filed a complaint in Richmond Circuit Court against Speaker of the House Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax County), Senate Rules Committee Chair Mamie Locke (D-Hampton), both the clerk of the House and the Senate as well as the Virginia Division of Capitol Police.

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Trial to Decide Fate of Robert E. Lee Statue Underway in Richmond

The trial over a lawsuit aiming to stop Governor Ralph Northam from removing the statue of former Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee began Monday morning in Richmond.

After the death of George Floyd, the Lee monument and other Confederate statues throughout the city became a focal point of the summer protests over racial inequality and police brutality in Richmond.

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Virginia Judge Bars Lee Statue Removal for 90 Days

A judge on Monday dissolved one injunction preventing Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s administration from removing an enormous statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond but immediately instituted a new one in a different lawsuit.

The new 90-day injunction issued by Richmond Circuit Court Judge W. Reilly Marchant bars the statue’s removal while the claims in a lawsuit filed by a group of Richmond property owners are litigated.

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