RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC/AP) — The lawsuit challenging Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s plans to remove the Robert E. Lee statue started Monday morning.
Residents who live among Monument Avenue are arguing against the removal of the statue. They argue that the governor does not have the authority to take down the state sating it would violate the original deed.
The residents filed the lawsuit after Northam ordered the removal of the statue in June amid the outcry and unrest caused by the death of George Floyd in police custody.
The Robert E. Lee monument being installed in Richmond (photo courtesy of The Valentine) 
The Lee statue in Richmond during the early 20th century The Robert E. Lee monument being installed in Richmond (photo courtesy of The Valentine) 
The Robert E. Lee monument being installed in Richmond (photo courtesy of The Valentine) 
Isaiah Bowen, right, takes a shot as his dad, Garth Bowen, center, looks on at a basketball hoop in front of the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue on Sunday, Jun. 21, 2020, in Richmond, Va. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) 
As the judge issued her ruling, a group of area faith leaders pushing for an end to police brutality gathered near the Robert E. Lee statue on Monument Avenue. (photo taken by 8News) 
Richmond dancers come together at the Robert E. Lee monument on June 5, 2020, after Northam’s announcement to take it down as soon as possible. (Kennedy George on the left, Ava Holloway on the right. Photo: Marcus Ingram) 
FILE -This Tuesday June 2, 2020 file photo shows a large group of protesters gather around the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue near downtown in Richmond, Va. When the bronze equestrian statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee arrived by rail in Richmond from Paris in 1890, it took 10,000 men, women and children to haul its pieces more than a mile to the site where the towering monument was erected as a tribute to a Confederate hero. Now, 130 years later, the challenges of removing the statue are more related to the intricate logistics of disassembling and transporting it to a storage facility, as well as ensuring worker safety amid heated public debate about Southern heritage versus racism.Avenue. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) 
Local band playing jazz infront of the Robert E. Lee monument in Richmond. (Photo: 8News) 
An inspection crew from the Virginia Department of General Services takes measurements as they inspect the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue Monday June 8, 2020, in Richmond, Va. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has ordered the removal of the statue. (AP Photo/Steve Helber) 
An inspection crew from the Virginia Department of General Services inspect the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue Monday June. 8, 2020, in Richmond, Va. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has ordered the removal of the statue. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Meanwhile, the state is standing firm.
Virginia Attorney general Mark Herring has called the statue “divisive” and “antiquated.” A two-step plan to remove the statue has already been approved by the state review board.
A Richmond judge is expected to hear opening arguments and then move to witness testimony in court at 10 a.m.
From the Courthouse
8News reporter Alex Thorson is reporting live from the courtroom Monday as the trial ensues.
The Virginia Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office says the expected witnesses for the trial are Dr. Ed Ayers, a historian, professor and the former president of the University of Richmond, and Professor Kevin Gaines, a professor of civil rights and social justice at the University of Virginia.
It was not immediately clear whether Richmond Circuit Court Judge W. Reilly Marchant might rule from the bench. In August, he took a week before issuing a ruling on the state’s motion to dismiss the case.
But no matter Marchant’s decision, the case could take more time to unwind — it is widely expected to be appealed to the Supreme Court of Virginia.
On Monday the plaintiff’s main argument against removing the statue is that the 1889 contract requires the state to keep the statue up and protect it. The attorney for the Monument Avenue residents says, “there are some that cannot change, even by law.”
On the other side, the Attorney General’s office argued that the statue was an “intentional tool… to ensure white solidarity” and is “inconsistent with state values” now. They also point to the General Assembly’s recent move to allow localities to remove such statues.
On the stand, Ayers says the erection of the monument in 1889 was an attempt to show “control.”
The judge said on Monday he would love to rule from the bench that day but the decision will take some time. The judge explains that both sides made good arguments and this case will be a difficult one for the city and the nation.
Despite having a busy week ahead the judge promises to get something back soon. He is unsure if a decision will be made in the next few days.
It is likely a decision will be made by Nov. 1. “Probably within seven to 10 days… maybe sooner,” the judge said.
The state of Richmond’s monuments in 2020
Monument Avenue, a prestigious residential boulevard that once contained one of the nation’s most prominent tributes to the Confederacy, was dramatically transformed over the summer. The avenue’s other large Confederate statues, which all sat on city property, were either toppled by protesters (in the case of Jefferson Davis ) or hauled off by contractors working for the city. Amid weeks of nightly protests, Mayor Levar Stoney ordered the statues removed, invoking his authority under a local emergency order.
The Lee statue, meanwhile, was transformed into a bustling hub of activity for demonstrators protesting police brutality and racism. The giant concrete pedestal of the statue is covered by colorful and constantly changing graffiti, many of the messages profanely denouncing police and others demanding an end to systemic racism and inequality.
A recent piece in The New York Times Style Magazine included the statue in its current state among a list of 25 of the “most influential works of American protest art since World War II.”
The 21-foot-high (6.4-meter-high) equestrian statue, which the state has said weighs about 12 tons (11 metric tonnes), sits atop a pedestal nearly twice that tall. Northam’s spokeswoman said Friday a decision has not yet been made about what will be done with the pedestal.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
MORE COVERAGE ON ROBERT E. LEE MONUMENT
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- Robert E. Lee Monument with graffiti, memorials inspiring Richmond artists
- Robert E. Lee statue becomes epicenter of protest movement
- Plan to remove Richmond’s Robert E. Lee statue calls for sculpture to be ‘partially disassembled’
- Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond listed as most influential protest art since WWII