Posted on 01/22/2004 9:08:59 PM PST by Rebeleye
A statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on Richmond's Monument Avenue was vandalized and damaged Saturday, Virginia Capitol Police said. The words, "Happy Birthday, MLK," were painted on the statue sometime between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m., police Maj. Mike Jones said. A light that illuminates the statue was broken, he said. The phrase "Death to Nazis" also was scrawled on the statue.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesdispatch.com ...
The words, "Happy Birthday, MLK," were painted on the statue sometime between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m., police Maj. Mike Jones said. A light that illuminates the statue was broken, he said. The phrase "Death to Nazis" also was scrawled on the statue.
It isn't rare for the five statues of Confederate heroes lining Monument Avenue to be vandalized. The Lee statue, the only one owned by the state, has been scratched and spray-painted several times over the years, Jones said.
This time of the year, police are particularly concerned about vandalism due to a clash of holidays, Jones said. Friday was Lee-Jackson Day, a state holiday recognizing Lee and another Confederate hero, Lt. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. The birthday of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. is observed Monday.
The Virginia chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans said Saturday it was offering a $1,000 reward to catch the vandal
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