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Charlottesville Spends Thousands Repeatedly Protecting Confederate Statue From Vandals

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Rob Shimshock Education Reporter
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Charlottesville has spent almost $5,000 keeping Confederate statues in its city premises covered with tarp, a Thursday report revealed.

The Charlottesville, Va., city council voted to cover its Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson statues Aug. 22, but people have since removed the shrouds approximately six times, according to The Cavalier Daily.

Joe Rice, Charlottesville’s communications coordinator, said that the city has spent $375.95 on 12 shrouds during the past month, or a total of just over $4,511.40.

The city erected “no trespassing” signs and fencing around the statues Tuesday after a Monday attempt to remove the shrouds. Signs before the monuments cost $225 and labor to place these and the fences amounted to $128.

Charlottesville’s city council voted to remove the statues, but pending litigation keeps them in place. A trial to determine the statues’ fate is expected to commence October 4. (RELATED: POLL: Majority Of UVA Students Support Removing Lee Statue, Renaming Confederate Parks)

Confederate generals are not the only historical figures under attack in Charlottesville; protesters covered a Thomas Jefferson statue at the University of Virginia earlier in September and plastered to the statue’s base a sign reading “Black Lives Matter — F*** White Supremacy.”

The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to the Charlottesville city council for comment, but received none in time for press.

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