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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Latest on removal of Confederate monuments in New Orleans. (all times local):
10:30 a.m.
A group opposing the removal of Confederate monuments in New Orleans says the process has been flawed from the start and that it lacks transparency.
The Monumental Task Committee in a news release called the removal of a statue in the pre-dawn darkness Monday by workers wearing scarves to cover their faces "atrocious government."
City officials said the Liberty Place monument was dismantled at night to avoid disruption from those who want the statues to stay.
The monument, which commemorates whites who tried to topple a biracial post-Civil War government in New Orleans, was hauled away in pieces around 5:35 a.m. Monday.
There are plans to remove three other monuments in the near future. City officials won't say when that will happen in order to keep workers safe.
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8:30 a.m.
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu says the city won't be deterred in its plans to remove three more Confederate monuments, but won't say when that will happen to protect the workers since there have been threats.
At a Monday morning news conference, Landrieu said the monument taken down in the pre-dawn darkness Monday had been erected to honor the killing of police officers by white supremacists.
The mayor said "we will no longer allow the Confederacy to literally be put on a pedestal in the heart of our city."
The Liberty Place monument taken down Monday was an 1891 obelisk honoring the Crescent City White League, which tried to overthrow a biracial Reconstruction government in New Orleans after the Civil War.
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5:55 a.m.
Workers in New Orleans have finished taking down the first of four Confederate statues in the city that will be removed over the coming days.
The Liberty Place monument was driven away in pieces around 5:35 a.m. Monday. Only a concrete base remained.
The Liberty Place monument is an 1891 obelisk honoring the Crescent City White League, which attempted to overthrow a biracial Reconstruction government in New Orleans after the Civil War.
Workers who took down the monument could be seen wearing bullet-proof vests, military-style helmets and scares that obscured their faces. That's because city officials have said supporters who want the monuments to stay have made death threats.
The other statues, of Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and P.G.T. Beauregard and Confederate States of America President Jefferson Davis, will come down in following days.
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1:30 a.m.
New Orleans will begin taking down Confederate statutes, becoming the latest Southern body to divorce itself from what some say are symbols of racism and intolerance.
Mayor Mitch Landrieu says the first memorial will come down Monday night because of death threats and intimidation from some of those who want the monuments to stay and to minimize city disruption.
The other statues, of Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and P.G.T. Beauregard and Confederate States of America President Jefferson Davis, will come down in following days.
Nationally, the debate over Confederate symbols has become heated since nine parishioners were killed at a black church in South Carolina in June 2015. South Carolina removed the Confederate flag from its statehouse grounds in the weeks after, and several Southern cities have since considered removing monuments.
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An earlier version of this item had an incorrect name of the Liberty Place monument.
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