Federal Judge Issues Temporary Restraining Order Blocking Removal of Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery
A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order on Monday, preventing the removal of a memorial to Confederate soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery. The decision came after a group called Defend Arlington, affiliated with Save Southern Heritage Florida, filed a lawsuit seeking the order in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. The lawsuit accused the Army, which runs the cemetery, of violating regulations in seeking a hasty removal of the memorial.
A cemetery spokesperson said that Arlington is in compliance with the restraining order but referred all other questions to the Justice Department. The cemetery had previously announced that it expected to complete the removal this week, citing it as a requirement by Congress.
The temporary restraining order was issued after the plaintiffs’ lawyer represented to the court that the work at the memorial involves the disturbance of gravesites, prompting the judge to take the matter seriously and consider appropriate sanctions in case the representations are untrue or exaggerated.
Last year, an independent commission recommended the memorial be taken down, and more than 40 House Republicans wrote to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, arguing that the commission overstepped its authority when it recommended that the monument be removed.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin disagrees with the decision and plans to move the monument to the New Market Battlefield State Historical Park in the Shenandoah Valley. The lawsuit will be presented in a hearing on Wednesday.
The memorial, unveiled in 1914, features a bronze woman representing the American South. It includes a Black woman depicted as “Mammy” holding what is said to be the child of a white officer, and an enslaved man following his owner to war. According to Arlington, the statue promotes reconciliation between North and South, but those advocating for its removal argue that it represents a painful history of slavery and racial discrimination.