US: Judge rules Confederate statues in Charlottesville protected by law

Judge Richard Moore made the decision in a case against city council members who voted two years ago to take down a statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee, a decision that prompted white nationalists to gather in a rally in the city in 2017.

Their protest provoked outrage across America and led to a discussion about the statues across the country.

Judge Moore, of the Charlottesville Circuit Court, said the statues can be viewed as both war monuments and symbols of racism.

“While some people obviously see Lee and Jackson as symbols of white supremacy, others see them as brilliant military tacticians or complex leaders in a difficult time,” he wrote. 

“In either event, the statues to them under the undisputed facts of this case still are monuments and memorials to them, as veterans of the civil war.”