It was an issue Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin inherited from his predecessor former Birmingham Mayor William Bell, but one from which he is not deviating.
Nearly a year ago, Bell ordered the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument, a 52-foot structure located at the entrance of Linn Park a block from Birmingham City Hall covered up and out of view of the public.
That led to crews from the city building a wall around the monument made from plywood painted black to conceal it. Immediately after Bell’s actions, Attorney General Steve Marshall filed a lawsuit against the city of Birmingham claiming it violated the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act legislation signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey in May 2017 and asked the judge to impose a $25,000 per day fine for each day the monument remains covered.
A report that aired Monday night on Birmingham NBC affiliate WVTM revealed Montgomery’s Southern Poverty Law Center got involved and filed a brief on behalf of the city of Birmingham claiming no Confederate monuments should be on any public property. Yet, given the issue remains unresolved, the $25,000 a day fine has accumulated.
“[B]ased on that formula, the city faces $8.7 million in fines,” WVTM’s Jon Paepcke explained.
Marshall told Birmingham ABC affiliate WBMA in April he did not believe the total amount of the fine would rise while the case is litigated. However, the ultimate outcome will be determined by a judge’s ruling.
@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and is the editor of Breitbart TV.
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