A Virginia state judge who blocked a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from being removed from a traffic circle in the capital of Richmond has recused himself from the case, The Washington Post reported.
Records obtained by the Post do not indicate why Judge Bradley B. Cavedo took himself off the case, but the publication said that he lives near the statue and was considering combining it with another lawsuit by homeowners in the area who argue removing the statue would lower their property values. The Post said his home’s proximity and that of nearby plaintiffs could create the appearance of a conflict of interest.
Four judges in the homeowners’ case have recused themselves from hearing the case.
Cavedo granted a request for a temporary restraining order in early June to William C. Gregor, who claims to be a descendant of the family that sold the land on which the Lee Monument stands. It halted Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, from unilaterally ordering the removal of Lee, who led the Army of Northern Virginia throughout most of the American Civil War.
Troops under his command defeated the Union forces under Gen. George McClellan during the Seven Days Battles in 1862 and drove them away from Richmond.
Gregory claims Virginia agreed to “faithfully guard it and affectionately protect it," referring to the statue when the state annexed the land from Henrico County in 1890.
The statue of Lee astride a horse was erected 20 years after Lee's death in 1870.
After the death of a black man, George Floyd, in police custody in Minneapolis on Memorial Day, protests and riots have ensued, including the toppling and calls for the removal of historical figures including Confederates, Revolutionary War heroes, Former President Theodore Roosevelt and Union Gen. Ulysses Grant.
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, a Democrat, has ordered the immediate removal of all Confederate monuments on city property. Officials removed Confederate Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson who died from pneumonia after being seriously wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia.
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