Lexington KY Confederate statues are being moved...
Posted by
Remlik (aka Remlik)
Oct 17 '17, 19:45
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The city of Lexington began to take down its statues of John Hunt Morgan and John C. Breckinridge Tuesday, in a surprise step toward relocating them to a cemetery.
The city's move, which began around 6:30 p.m., came after a ruling from Attorney General Andy Beshear earlier in the day that found the statues did not fall under the jurisdiction of the Kentucky Military Heritage Commission as previously thought.
The Confederate statues will be housed at a private storage facility until an agreement is finalized with the Lexington Cemetery, where both men are buried, according to Mayor Jim Gray's office. The cemetery's trustees gave conditional approval to moving them last month.
The statues were moved "immediately" to protect them and allow work on the Courthouse lawn to be completed, according to a news release from the mayor's office. It adds the move and eventual relocation are funded largely by donations and private dollars.
Russell Allen, a member of Take Back Cheapside, has been working with other members since 2015 to take down the statues, which are located near the site of the Cheapside slave auction block, one of the largest in the South.
Allen said he found out the statues were coming down at 6:30 p.m. and headed over, where about 60 people were watching.
"We came on down to watch history," said Allen, who noted there were no counter-protesters. "It's a celebration. Everyone is in good spirits. We're glad to see all the work we did come to a head."
More: Lexington Mayor Jim Gray wants city cemetery to take two Confederate statues
Earlier: Removal of statues ultimately up to military personnel, historians
Read this: White nationalist: Removing statues is 'an act of genocide'
In his opinion, Beshear wrote former Lexington Mayor Teresa Isaac was not authorized to sign an application for the statues to be designated as Kentucky Military Heritage sites without the prior approval of the Urban County Council.
Isaac signed an application for the Kentucky Military Heritage site designation in May 2003, at the request of a private citizen. The council never voted or considered the request, according to Gray's office.
"That action wasn't lawful, and it is void," Gray wrote in a statement. "The Attorney General confirmed our finding this morning. That means our local authority remains intact; this is a local decision, as it should be."
Gray began calling for the statues' relocation following a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, that led to a woman's death as well as dozens of injuries when a car crashed into a crowd of counterprotesters.
The council went on to vote unanimously in favor of moving them. Negotiations are ongoing with the cemetery over the "terms" of the move, a press release from Gray's office states.
Mark Durbin, the cemetery's president and general manager, did not respond to a voicemail from the Courier-Journal late Tuesday night.
The statues' relocation has garnered opposition from Matthew Heimbach, a white nationalist who has promised protests if the city takes them down. He did not respond to a text seeking comment late Tuesday night.
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