Free Republic

For a century, Monument Avenue has showcased some of the Confederacy’s most revered figures. Soon, there will be a blank canvas. Over the past week, the Richmond Times-Dispatch asked demonstrators, residents, artists and community leaders what they'd like to see on the new Monument Avenue. There were suggestions of new statues, honoring a more inclusive set of heroes. Others wanted a space for performance or reflection, while some felt the empty pedestals should stay as a historical testimony of their own. One point of agreement was that it must be a communitywide conversation. Through restrictive covenants, real estate companies long...

Patrik Mathews, formerly with the Canadian Forces, was arrested by the FBI on gun charges. Mathews, along with two other men are allegedly connected to a neo-Nazi gang. The men allegedly planned to attack a Virginia gun rally scheduled for next week. The charges against Mathews include the transporting of a firearm and ammunition with intent to commit a felony and breaking immigration laws. Mathews was a former reservist in the Canadian Army who officials claim illegally entered the United States. The CBC reported that while in the force, Mathews worked as a combat engineer and had basic explosives training...

RICHMOND, Va. -- As the remnants of Hurricane Florence moved through Virginia Monday, numerous tornadoes formed in what meteorologists are calling a historic tornado outbreak.

A statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on Richmond's famed Monument Avenue has been vandalized. Red paint was splattered on the statue's base. The letters BLM, an apparent reference to the Black Lives Matter movement, was also sprayed on the base. Virginia Capitol Police, which is responsible for policing the monuments, told news outlets the vandalism occurred late Friday or early Saturday between patrols. The vandalism occurs a week ahead of the one-year anniversary of the deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville that was organized in part as a protest to plans to remove a Lee Statue there. ETC...

Woman confronts Bannon in store, calls him a ‘piece of trash’ RICHMOND, Va. — A Virginia bookstore owner called police after he says a customer began harassing former White House strategist Steve Bannon in his shop. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that Nick Cooke, owner of Black Swan Books in Richmond, called 911 Saturday afternoon after witnessing a woman confront Bannon and call him a “piece of trash.” Cooke said Bannon was minding his own business when the woman began harassing him. Cooke asked the woman to leave. She did so only after he called police.

A Richmond, Virginia, bookstore owner said he called the police on Saturday after former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon was confronted in his store. Nick Cooke, owner of Black Swan Books, told The Richmond Times-Dispatch that a woman called Bannon a “piece of trash.” The woman then left the store after Cooke said he called 911. “Steve Bannon was simply standing, looking at books, minding his own business. I asked her to leave, and she wouldn’t. And I said, ‘I’m going to call the police if you don’t,’ and I went to call the police and she left,” Cooke...

Dominion Outsourcing LLC, based in Henrico, has been growing steadily since it opened in 2016. Now, they’re planning to add 190 to keep up with demand. President and CEO Dai Barth said the company is investing $370,000 as part of an expansion that will include moving to a larger space next year. "Our specialty is doing document acquisition for medical supply companies, medical intake, and insurance verification." Even in the digital age, he said, their work continues to be a manual process. "With our proprietary software, called Beacon RX, we can that workflow more efficiently for their business than they...

The mayor of Richmond, Virginia on Wednesday said he wants to see the removal of Confederate statues on the city’s famous avenue of monuments. He added, “These monuments should be part of our dark past and not of our bright future. I personally believe they are offensive and need to be removed.”

Leaders across the country have removed or accelerated plans to remove statues to the Confederacy in the wake of violence and death at a white nationalists rally in Charlottesville. What do you think should happen in Richmond? Remove them and put them in museumsKeep them and add contextNothing. They're fine as isRemove them

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe signed an executive order late Friday halting demonstrations at Lee Monument in Richmond for the next 90 days. That order violates the First Amendment. “In spite of weeks of preparation, the city of Charlottesville was the target of an act of domestic terrorism that cost one woman her life, and had a helicopter accident lead to the deaths of two state troopers,” McAuliffe said in a statement that accompanied the executive order:

The great-great-grandsons of Thomas 'Stonewall' Jackson said the monument to the legendary Confederate general and others in Virginia's capital city were constructed as symbols of white supremacy and should be taken down. They added: 'While we are not ashamed of our great great grandfather, we are ashamed to benefit from white supremacy while our black family and friends suffer. We are ashamed of the monument.'

Cities with Confederate history are debating whether or not to remove Civil War monuments in places like picturesque Monument Avenue that is lined with statues for Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson and J.E.B. Stuart. Citizens are asking the question in Richmond - do you think Richmond should remove its Confederate monuments?

While it appears that Jill Stein has raised enough money, albeit suspiciously, to start a vote recount in Wisconsin, efforts have begun on the other side to challenge votes in three states won by Hillary Clinton: Colorado, Nevada and Virginia. Operation Sabot 2016, started by the group Oath Keepers is contesting vote totals in Clark County in Nevada; Denver and Boulder Counties in Colorado; and Richmond, Fairfax, and Henrico Counties in Virginia.

RICHMOND, Va. — Hundreds of people marched through Richmond to protest the election of Donald Trump, and three Confederate statues were vandalized, authorities said Thursday. A dozen people were arrested. Crowds gathered Wednesday night, blocking streets near Virginia Commonwealth University. Online video showed marchers chanting, “No Trump. No KKK. No fascist USA,” and carrying banners reading, “Not my president.” Troopers responded to Interstate 95 around 10 p.m. and guided a large group of protesters off the highway, state police said. More than an hour later, troopers were called to the Downtown Expressway, where protesters sat in lanes and many refused...

If I recall correctly, Anthony Weiner initially was the frontrunner in the last New York mayoral election, his first sexting scandal notwithstanding. Only after a second such scandal broke did his campaign collapse. Richmond, Virgina voters seem even more forgiving than New Yorkers. They may be on the verge of electing the Anthony Weiner of the South as their mayor.

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Reverend Jesse Jackson will be in Richmond campaigning for Hillary Clinton and Tim Kaine ahead of the vice-presidential debate at Longwood University Tuesday night. Jackson is set to join local student volunteers to help register voters at Virginia Commonwealth University before the October 17 deadline. According to the press release, he will also discuss the high stakes of this year’s election

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu9UkT8rlsM

There is a group of teenagers going around Richmond and knocking out people on the streets, Richmond Police Det. W. Cutshall said. The teens then steal whatever they want from the victim. “It’s two to three, sometimes four male juveniles knocking pedestrians or bicyclists to the ground,” Det. Cutshall said. “When they knock them to the ground, they begin punching them and kicking them and taking whatever they have in their possession.” The crimes, two reported in October and two reported last week, are focused in the Randolph neighborhood around S. Allen Ave. , Idlewood Ave. and Kemper St. The...

RICHMOND, Va. - The mayor of Richmond announced plans Monday to build a minor-league baseball park on the site of a slave market and cemetery, prompting an outcry over what protesters said would be desecration of the area. Mayor Dwight Jones, a black minister, said the 7,200-seat ballpark would generate badly needed jobs and revenue and include a $30 million memorial. The ballbark is part of a $200 million development in Richmond's Shockoe Bottom neighborhood.

RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) - A large crowd gathered near the Federal Courthouse in Richmond as part of the "Justice for Trayvon" rallies happening all over the country. Mayor Dwight Jones and several other pastors spoke out at Saturday's event. It's been one week since a jury rendered a not guilty verdict in the George Zimmerman trial. City and community leaders took this opportunity to push for more peace in the streets. Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones shared his views on Florida's controversial Stand Your Ground law to the crowd. "Stand your ground is something that doesn't exist in Virginia it exists...