The City of Birmingham on Monday night removed a controversial Confederate statue from downtown’s Linn Park less than 24 hours after protesters defaced and damaged the monument.
Shortly before 8 p.m. on Monday, a large crane arrived in Linn Park — with the city nearly vacant after Mayor Randall Woodfin earlier in the day imposed a mandatory 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew — to remove the 115-year old monument that had caused a years-long battle between state lawmakers and leaders in Alabama’s largest city.
The Alabama Supreme Court last year ruled that Birmingham violated Alabama’s monument protection law when it placed a plywood screen around the Confederate monument in August 2017, and ordered the city to pay a $25,000 fine.
“Should the City of Birmingham proceed with the removal of the monument in question, based upon multiple conversations I have had [Monday], city leaders understand I will perform the duties assigned to me by the Act to pursue a new civil complaint against the city,” Marshall said.
However, “In the aftermath of [Sunday] night’s violent outbreak, I have offered the City of Birmingham the support and resources of my office to restore peace to the city.”