Gov. Cooper orders removal of 3 Confederate monuments from Capitol grounds
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Crews have removed two Confederate monuments from downtown Raleigh, including the Daughters of the Confederacy Monument and the Henry Lawson Wyatt Monument.
This follows the partial toppling of the Confederate monument outside the Capitol Friday evening.
RELATED: Demonstrators topple 2 statues from Confederate monument outside NC Capitol building
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Protesters gathered outside the Capitol and took down parts of the monument with ropes. The statues were dragged on the street and one was hung on W. Hargett Street.
In a statement Saturday, Gov. Roy Cooper said he has ordered all monuments on the Capitol grounds to be moved "to protect public safety." This includes the monument to the Women of the Confederacy, the figure of Henry Lawson Wyatt and the remainder of the North Carolina Confederate monument.
"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 If the legislature had repealed their 2015 law that puts up legal roadblocks to removal we could have avoided the dangerous incidents of last night," said Cooper.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.
WATCH:
The Monument to North Carolina Women of the Confederacy was dedicated in 1914 and was created to recognize the sacrifices of North Carolina women during the Civil War.
Raleigh man charged with littering after tweeting about white hoods on Raleigh Confederate monument
ABC11 crews captured the Henry Lawson Wyatt Monument also being removed. That statue was dedicated in 1912.
WATCH:
A native of Edgecombe County, Wyatt is purported to be the first Confederate Soldier killed in action.
Last week, the Nash Square statue of Josephus Daniels, a known white supremacist, was removed at the request of his family.
RELATED: Statue of white supremacist Josephus Daniels removed from Raleigh's Nash Square
