Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has filed a lawsuit against the city of Birmingham and its Mayor William Bell over coverage of a Confederate monument in Linn Park, WIAT.com reported Wednesday.
“In accordance with the law, my office has determined that by affixing tarps and placing plywood around the Linn Park Memorial such that it is hidden from view, the Defendants have ‘altered’ or ‘otherwise disturbed’ the memorial in violation of the letter and spirit of the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act,” said Marshall. “The City of Birmingham does not have the right to violate the law and leaves my office with no choice but to file suit.”
Save Our South, a nonprofit group that aims to "preserve Southern heritage and historical monuments across the United States," has also threatened a lawsuit according to AL.com.
Birmingham Mayor William Bell on Tuesday ordered city workers to cover the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument with large wooden walls and nail guns, a move that comes in the wake of violence Saturday in Charlottesville, Virginia, where three people died and least 34 were injured.
The mayor is exploring legal options for removing the monument, and Save Our South said the city is violating the settlement of their 2015 lawsuit by doing so.
"If the city decides to move forward with removal of the monuments, there will be another lawsuit, heavy fines, and it will now be a criminal action," Save Our South said in a press release.
Birmingham Assistant City Attorney Tracy Roberts told AL.com there was not a settlement.
"The case was dismissed as moot because neither the city nor the park board had taken any action to justify the lawsuit," he said.
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