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Jefferson Davis Torn Off His Pedestal

Officer before statue
Police oversaw the removal of the toppled Davis statue. (Photo: Coleman Jennings/VPM News)

On Saturday night, the statue of Williams Carter Wickham, a confederate general, was knocked off its pedestal. Tuesday evening, demonstrators toppled a statue of Christopher Columbus.

Last night, a statue to Jefferson Davis, president of the confederacy, was torn off a pedestal on Monument Avenue by what one bystander described as a tiny sedan.

A week ago, Gov. Ralph Northam announced plans to remove a 60-foot tall state-owned statue of Robert E. Lee. A Richmond judge has since approved a 10-day injunction to temporarily prevent that. 

Davis’s fate seemed sealed days ago when all nine members of Richmond’s city council said they would support legislation from Mayor Levar Stoney to remove all four city owned statues of confederate figures along Richmond’s historic Monument Avenue.

Police arrived and supervised removal of the toppled statue - but its destination was unclear at press time.