A Confederate statue in Virginia was vandalized and ripped down by rioters in Richmond’s Monroe Park on Saturday.
The 129-year-old statue is of Confederate leader Williams Carter Wickham and stood by the crosswalk leading to Virginia Commonwealth University’s main campus.
Wickham was Colonel of the Fourth Virginia Cavalry during the Civil War, but following the Confederacy surrendering, he worked towards creating harmony between the states and became a Republican.
During the Civil War, the park where the statue stood was a Confederate instructional camp and later a military hospital.
Before toppling it, the statue was vandalized with profanity and Black Lives Matter slogans.
The statue of Confederate General Williams Carter Wickham in Monroe Park lays beside its base, covered in paint. pic.twitter.com/D6EgslhpS7
— The Commonwealth Times (@theCT) June 7, 2020
Witnesses said that it was pulled down by a “large group of people” using ropes, though no arrests have yet been made.
RT @JakeBurnsCBS6: BREAKING TONIGHT: @CBS6 crew was working on their 11pm story when they heard loud cheers by Monroe Park. This statue of confederate general Willams Carter Wickham has been toppled. #RVA pic.twitter.com/jv3yTx2iBQ
— WTVR CBS 6 Richmond (@CBS6) June 7, 2020
Richmond City Council candidate Amy Wentz posted a photo of the destruction and celebrated the vandalism on Twitter.
Well it was Confederate Gen. Williams Carter Wickham. Now it’s a pile of rubble. Buhbye https://t.co/x7o8InNplz
— Amy (@amyinthe8th) June 7, 2020
“Well it was Confederate Gen. Williams Carter Wickham. Now it’s a pile of rubble. Buhbye,” the candidate wrote.
On Thursday, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam ordered the removal of the iconic statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on Monument Avenue.
https://www.facebook.com/MatthewFultzTV/posts/1390122711181478
Prior to its removal, protections were removed which allowed vandals to destroy it.
