Judge denies appeal in Confederate monuments case

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NEW ORLEANS – It appears the Confederate monuments will soon come down.

U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier today declined to issue an injunction that would have prevented the city from taking down statues of Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, P.G.T. Beauregard and the Liberty Place monument.

A group of preservationists filed a federal lawsuit on Dec. 17, hours after the City Council voted 6-1 to declare the monuments public nuisances, clearing the way for their removal, something the city said it had planned to begin as soon as possible.

The lawsuit, however, halted that activity as the city agreed to wait until the legal proceedings were complete to begin the removal process.

Barbier's decision wasn't a surprise.

During a hearing on Jan. 14 he appeared to find little merit in the plaintiffs' arguments for why the statues should remain in place.

The lawsuit was filed by the Monumental Task Committee, Louisiana Landmarks Society, the Foundation for Historical Louisiana and Beauregard Camp No. 130.

The suit contained several arguments against taking down the monuments.

Among those: the statues should be protected since they are near streetcar lines that were paid for with federal funds and that since the Monumental Task Committee has volunteered to maintain them the group should have a say in their fate.

During last month's hearing, Barbier also said he was less than swayed by an argument that the city violated Constitutional due process by not giving enough opportunities for opponents to weigh in on the matter.

He noted that the City Council held two contentious hours-long meetings before the vote, in addition to several committee meetings before that.

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