PORTSMOUTH, Va. - The Portsmouth City Council voted Tuesday night in favor of adopting an ordinance to transfer money to remove one of the city’s Confederate monuments.
The ordinance transfers $250,000 from the non-departmental general fund budget to the department of engineering budget. It will be used to remove the Confederate monument that sits at the intersection of Court Street and High Street.
This particular monument has been the site of protests in recent weeks. On June 10, the Confederate monument controversy escalated after the Portsmouth NAACP President and Vice President were arrested during a peaceful protestto cover the figures on the statue in tarps.
Later that night, a Portsmouth man was seriously injured after protesters tore off parts of the monument.His family told News 3 he was trying to get people out of harm's way when the statue came crashing down on him.
The next day, city council called a special meeting after the incident.
