NORFOLK, Va. — City of Norfolk attorneys have announced their plan to file a challenge to the state law.
The attorneys claim the law is holding the city back from removing the Confederate monument from downtown.
This push comes after a citizen complaint was filed in March that challenged the law's implications or applicability, interfering with Norfolk's authority to remove or relocate the "Johnny Reb" Confederate monument.
The complaint asks the court to force the city to follow through on a resolution the council passed in 2017 to move the 80-foot-tall monument from its current location in downtown.
State code is the only issue. Under current law, there are restrictions on the removal or relocation of war memorials or monuments. Throughout the years there have been conflicting rulings about moving these monuments, so Norfolk is waiting for legal clearance to remove the monument from East Main Street.
