December 20th 2023.
A recent development has stalled plans to take down a Confederate memorial by the Dec. 22 deadline. A federal judge has issued an order to stop the work until a hearing on Dec. 20.
The Arlington National Cemetery, managed by the Department of Defense, has stated its intention to comply with the ruling and remove the monument before the Jan. 1 deadline.
The cemetery's website describes the monument as a way to sanitize the pre-Civil War era system of slavery, romanticize the secession of the Confederacy, and perpetuate the “Lost Cause” mythology. It was built in 1914, 49 years after the Civil War ended, as a way to keep the memory of the Confederacy alive.
A group called Defense Arlington has filed a lawsuit against the Pentagon, accusing them of bypassing federal environmental law in an effort to remove the monument quickly and potentially disturb surrounding graves. U.S. District Judge Rossie Alston agreed that this was a potential issue and thus issued the ruling to halt the removal.
The cemetery stated that they would only remove the monument and leave the base and foundation intact to avoid disturbing other graves in the area. The hearing will be held on Dec. 20 to determine the future of the monument.
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