Last week, a gang of tiki torch wielding white nationalists descended on the UVA campus to shout things like "white lives matter" in protest of the removal of Confederate statues. That rally exploded in Charlottesville the next day, leaving protesters like Heather Heyer dead. The situation has found President Donald Trump publicly comparing the hate on one side to the frustration on the other, but in Baltimore, the heart of the matter—those Confederate statues—are being removed with the quickness.
Overnight, at least two Confederate statues were removed. This follows a unanimous vote on Monday from the Baltimore City Council to take down four statues in the city.
BREAKING VIDEO: Statue of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson being removed in Baltimore. #DayToDenounce pic.twitter.com/2arfqVP6Bh
NOW: Crews removing statue/plaque of Roger B Taney in MtVernon section of #Baltimore. Friend sent me this video moments ago. @ABC @WHSVNews pic.twitter.com/ADiR3aNU27
For those just waking up, here's what happened in Baltimore: the city's dead-of-night removal of all four of its Confederate monuments. pic.twitter.com/gaquP2hlqN
Baltimore's statue of Roger Taney - author of the 1857 Dred Scott decision that denied citizenship to black people - was removed overnight. pic.twitter.com/Qg7WbUK5K1
Some activists wasted no time for photo opps.
Baltimore, MD: Activists atop the Lee Jackson statue base. pic.twitter.com/EyuRL4PBep via @baynardwoods
CNN is reporting that statues in Lexington, Kentucky are set to be removed as well, and word is that some of these statues will be sent to Confederate cemeteries.
