LEXINGTON, N.C. — The Confederate monument that stood in uptown Lexington for more than a century was removed early Friday morning, city officials said. City leaders have been fighting to move it for months.
Lexington Mayor Newell Clark said he woke up to the sound of a crane moving the statue.
“Without question, I think as a whole community, we are relieved," Lexington Mayor Newell Clark said. "This entire process was simply about a compromise of a relocation. This is still the agreement we have with the UDC, is a relocation.”
Earlier this week, the city and the statue's owners, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, agreed to move the statue if the city pays for it.
But the county disagreed and sued over the decision.
On Thursday, a judge dismissed the county's request, clearing the way for the statue to be moved.
City officials said the statue is now in the owner's possession but did not say where. Clark said he does not know where the statue was taken and does not want to know.
Stay with WFMY News 2 for updates.