CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe has signed an executive order temporarily banning any public demonstrations at a monument to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee in Richmond.
McAuliffe signed the order Friday, saying it was necessary after a deadly white nationalist rally over a Lee statue in Charlottesville.
The Lee monument in Richmond is in the middle of a traffic circle on Monument Avenue, an iconic boulevard with several other Confederate statues. McAuliffe said allowing any large demonstration there would “create a safety hazard in the current circumstances.” The city was once the capital of the Confederacy.
Earlier this week a group supporting the preservation of Confederate monuments in Richmond canceled its plans to hold a rally next month because of the potential for violence.
