Lexington Mayor to Relocate Confederate Statues Amid Charlottesville Events

The mayor of Lexington said that he was planning to relocate the city’s Confederate statues amid Charlottesville protests.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The mayor of Lexington, Kentucky, Jim Gray said that he is planning to relocate the city’s Confederate statues amid Charlottesville protests.

"The tragic events in Charlottesville today have accelerated the announcement I intended to make next week … I am taking action to relocate the Confederate statues. We have thoroughly examined this issue, and heard from many of our citizens," Gray said on Twitter on Saturday.

The tragic events in Charlottesville today have accelerated the announcement I intended to make next week.

— Mayor Jim Gray (@JimGrayLexKY) 12 августа 2017 г.

​He added that he intended to ask the Council to support Lexington’s petition to the Kentucky Military Heritage Commission over the relocation of the statues of John C. Breckinridge and Thomas Hunt Morgan located at the city’s Historic Courthouse.

On Saturday, Charlottesville saw a major rally of far-right nationalists dubbed "Unite the Right" protesting the removal of a statue honoring Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, which subsequently led to violent clashes between the demonstrators and counterprotesters.