It was quite a Juneteenth in downtown Raleigh. On Friday, crowds gathered while demonstrators pulled down two confederate monuments outside of the North Carolina Capitol building.
Police officers originally tried to intervene, but were ordered to stand down after several officers were injured.
“After the initial attempt to remove the statue was prevented and deescalated by law enforcement, Chief Hawley says officers did remain on the grounds to continue maintaining public safety. In the initial engagement, several officers received injuries,” NC Department of Public Safety officials said.
Governor Cooper has requested the removal of the remaining monuments located on Capitol grounds.
“I have ordered the Confederate monuments on the Capitol grounds be moved to protect public safety. I am concerned about the dangerous efforts to pull down and carry off large, heavy statues and the strong potential for violent clashes at the site. If the legislature had repealed their 2015 law that puts up legal roadblocks to removal we could have avoided the dangerous incidents of last night,” said Cooper. “Monuments to white supremacy don’t belong in places of allegiance, and it’s past time that these painful memorials be moved in a legal, safe way,” Cooper said.
Twitter/Snapchat: @The_KarenClark
Raleigh Confederate Statues Pulled Down On Juneteenth; One Left Hanging By Its Neck On Downtown Street Sign was originally published on foxync.com