GRAHAM, N.C. — Editor's note: The video attached shows 2021 protests, where groups gathered in favor and opposed to removing the statue.
A Confederate monument at the center of large protests in Alamance County cannot be moved, an appeals court ruled.
A judge ruled Tuesday that county commissioners do not have the authority to move it. The judge cited the Monument Protection Law.
The law said leaders cannot permanently relocate a statue on public property unless it meets certain criteria. The judge ruled that this scenario didn't meet those guidelines.
A Confederate statue outside the old courthouse in Graham came under scrutiny, like many other monuments, in 2020 after the killing of George Floyd. The county decided it couldn't move the statue, citing the same state law that the judge did.
Many gathered in Graham in 2020 and 2021 to share their feelings about the statue. Many people demanded it come down, while others urged leaders to keep it up.
Several groups, including the North Carolina NAACP, filed a lawsuit in 2021 to try to force the county to remove it. They argued that the statute is a public safety threat and that keeping it up violates the Constitution. They said leaders should move it to a "historically appropriate location."
Among the other claims, the groups cited a clause in the Monument Protection Law that they believed allowed the statue to be moved. The law creates an exception if a building inspector or someone with a similar role deems the monument a safety risk.
In 2020, the Alamance County manager emailed county commissioners, asking them to take the statue down because he worried about the safety of people protesting. A judge dismissed that claim, saying the county manager's job is managerial and does not equate to that of a building inspector.