US: Plaintiffs drop 1 lawsuit, file another over Lee statue

A group of property owners along Richmond's famed Monument Avenue dropped one lawsuit and immediately replaced it with ar on Thursday seeking to block removal ofa statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, an attorney for group said.

six plaintiffs h initially filed a state lawsuit in Richmond Circuit Court on Monday, but Attorney General Mark Herring moved it to federal court. plaintiffs n dropped lawsuit altoger on Wednesday and filed a new, similar suit again in state court, said, attorney Patrick McSweeney.

initial lawsuit challenged Gov. Ralph rtham’s authority to order equestrian statue’s removal from its prominent place in ex-capital of Confederacy.

plaintiffs also argued that removing statue would strip a stretch of Monument Avenue of its current National Historic Landmark designation, resulting in “ loss of favorable tax treatment" and reduced property values.

rtham anunced earlier this month that statue would be taken down and moved to stor while his ministration seeks public input on its future. He cited pain gripping country over killing of George Floyd, a black man in Minneapolis who pleed for air as a white police officer pressed a knee into his neck.

Floyd’s death has sparked global protests that participants have vowed to turn into a sustained movement focused on dressing racial injustice and police brutality. It has also led to an intense reexamination of statues and monuments of historical figures around world.

Herring, a Democrat like rtham, has pledged to defend rtham’s plans, calling Lee statue a “divisive relic.”

statue is one of five memorials to Confederacy along Monument Avenue, and only one on state property. Richmond City Council has expressed unanimous support for removing rest, which demonstrators have covered with graffiti in recent weeks.

A hearing is scheduled Thursday in Richmond Circuit Court in a separate state lawsuit over Lee statue removal plans. A judge in that case has issued a temporary injunction preventing its removal.

McSweeney said he filed a motion to consolidate that case and his clients'.