Jun 7, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Protesters tear down statue of Confederate general in Richmond

Jacob Knutson

Confederate statue torn down — Photo: Alexa Welch Edlund/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP

Demonstrators on Saturday pulled down a statue of Williams Carter Wickham, a Confederate general during the Civil War, in Richmond, Virginia, AP reports.

Why it matters: Confederate monuments have been a flashpoint in the protests against police brutality and racism that have swept across the country over the past two weeks.

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced last week that the state will remove the famous statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from Richmond's historic Monument Avenue.

The big picture: The toppling of the Wickham statue followed a day of largely peaceful protests in the Virginia capital.

A Richmond police spokesperson told AP that she did not know if there were any arrests or damage done to the statue.
Some of Wickham’s descendants urged the city to remove the statue in 2017, according to AP.

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Protesters tear down statue of Confederate general in Richmond

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