A statue of Robert E. Lee was knocked down from its pedestal at Montgomery’s Lee High School sometime Monday evening, as evidenced by pictures from the scene.
When WSFA arrived on the scene, the TV outlet reported that no one was present besides police officers, who proceeded to stand the statue back up next to the pedestal, which looms large in front of the school’s main entrance.
Officials just stood the statue back up beside its pedestal in front of the school @wsfa12news pic.twitter.com/NsgYvlFWJn
— Jenn Horton (@JennWSFA) June 2, 2020
Per WSFA, it was not immediately clear what happened to the statue.
The outlet reported that the statue was subsequently loaded onto a truck to be removed from the scene.
Statue of Robert E Lee is loaded up in the back of a truck outside the school @wsfa12news pic.twitter.com/vJzQG1wjo6
— Jenn Horton (@JennWSFA) June 2, 2020
The incident was discovered as a peaceful protest occurred in downtown Montgomery, just outside the historic Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was once the pastor.
This also came as the City of Birmingham continued to work to remove the 115-year-old Confederate Soldiers and Sailors monument in Linn Park.
Monday was an annual state holiday in Alabama, recognizing the birthday of Jefferson Davis, who served as president of the Confederacy from 1861-1865.
UPDATE 11:00 p.m.
WSFA reported that the Montgomery Police Department has “suspects” in custody.
BREAKING: MPD confirms suspects are in custody for bringing down the statue. No Word on charges or how many suspects were involved @wsfa12news
— Jenn Horton (@JennWSFA) June 2, 2020
This is breaking news and may be updated.
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
