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Published 23:46 IST, June 3rd 2020

Protesters surround Confederate statue in Virginia

Protesters gathered near a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on Tuesday in Richmond, Virginia during another evening of protests over the killing of George Floyd.

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Protesters gathered near a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on Tuesday in Richmond, Virginia during another evening of protests over the killing of George Floyd.

Floyd was a handcuffed black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on his neck for more than eight minutes as he pleaded for air.

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Demonstrators chanted "Tear them down" in front of the monument and City Hall.

They called for the removal of the statue of Lee, who commanded the Confederate States Army during the Civil War.

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In other southern states, Confederate monuments are again coming down.

Relics of the Old South have been removed from public display in at least three states amid continuing protests over Floyd's police killing.

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In Alabama, crews took down a huge stone monument in a park in downtown Birmingham.

In Alexandria, Virginia, the United Daughters of the Confederacy removed early Tuesday a statue of a soldier gazing south from Old Town since 1889.

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And outside Tampa, Florida, a Sons of Confederate Veterans chapter lowered a huge Confederate battle flag that has long been flown in view of two interstate highways.

(Representative Image)

23:46 IST, June 3rd 2020