Norfolk, Virginia is suing in federal court to contest a state law prohibiting the removal of war monuments. Norfolk is basing its lawsuit on the First Amendment that the establishment of the statue was an act of free speech, and they had the right to change the speech by removing the statue. (Courthouse News Service, August 19, 2019, by Brad Kutner)
Norfolk wants to remove the statue because they believe it represents white supremacy and racism. Activists in Charlottesville have successfully blocked the removal of two Confederate statues by invoking the Virginia war monument preservation law. (The Washington Post, August 19, 2019, by Paul Duggan)
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