Workers in Charlottesville, Virginia shrouded a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E Lee in black on Wednesday in a move symbolizing the city’s mourning for a woman killed while protesting a white nationalist rally earlier this month.
The scene showed a public works truck near the base of the statue and workers gathered around it with a large black drape.
They used ropes and poles to cover the imposing statue of Lee on horseback as onlookers took photos and video. Some of the crowd cheered as the cover was put in place.
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City workers prepare to drape a tarp over the statue of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson in Justice park in Charlottesville, Va, Wednesday
The cit council unannimously voted Tuesday to drape the statues in honor of Heather Heyer who was killed by a car while counter-protesting at a neo-Nazi rally
The imposing statue of General Robert R Lee, completely cover Wednesday
The city council voted Tuesday to drape the Lee statue and another of Confederate Gen. Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson at another nearby park.
The council meeting was packed with irate residents who screamed and cursed at councilors over the city’s response to the rally.
The Aug. 12 ‘Unite the Right’ event was believed to be the largest gathering of white nationalists in a decade.
A Charlottesville resident cheers as city workers drape a tarp over the Lee statue
City workers secured the tarp as the covered the statue Wednesday
White nationalists and counter-protesters clashed violently in the street that day, largely uninterrupted by authorities, until the event was declared an unlawful assembly and the crowd was forced to disperse.
Later, a car rammed into a crowd of demonstrators, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer.
James Alex Fields Jr. has been charged in her death.
The death toll for the day climbed to three when a helicopter that had been monitoring the event and assisting with the governor’s motorcade crashed, killing Charlottesville resident Heather Heyer, 32, was killed when a car slammed into a crowd protesting the rally. James Alex Fields Jr. has been charged in her death.
The city council voted unanimously early Tuesday to shroud the statues in fabric to represent the city’s mourning of Heyer.
Tuesday’s vote came after anger boiled over at the first city council meeting since the rally. Some residents screamed and cursed at councilors and called for their resignations.
A sign asks Mayor Mike Signor to resign during the Charlottesville City Council meeting, As tensions escalated, the meeting was halted. Live video showed protesters standing on a dais with a sign that said, ‘Blood on your hands’
A police spokeswoman said three people were arrested and released on summons for disorderly conduct.
Scores of people packed the council’s chambers on Monday and Mike Signer was interrupted by shouting several times in the first few minutes of the meeting.
As tensions escalated, the meeting was halted. Live video showed protesters standing on a dais with a sign that said, ‘Blood on your hands.’