PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — If you visit the intersection of Court and High streets in Portsmouth today, you may have never known a 54-foot-tall Confederate monument with four soldier statues once towered over passing vehicles.
A Portsmouth spokeswoman confirmed to 10 On Your Side Wednesday that the road has been reopened to traffic following the 113-year-old monument’s removal. Work to take down the monument began in late August with the removal of the structure’s obelisk.
The area was closed for several months following a destructive protest on June 10 that left a man critically injured and the monument broken and covered in colorful paint.
The city previously approved $250,000 to cover the cost of moving the monument.
Portsmouth Police Chief Angela Greene in August took out charges against 19 people in connection with the vandalism of the monument, including Sen. L. Louise Lucas, local NAACP chapter leaders and public defenders.
A Portsmouth resident also filed two misdemeanor charges against Vice Mayor Lisa Lucas-Burke, the senator’s daughter, for calling for Greene’s resignation. Those charges were dismissed this month.
After taking out charges against the 19 accused in the monument case, in early September Greene was placed on paid administrative leave pending the results of an internal investigation.
Local NAACP leaders also tried to take out charges against two Portsmouth City Council members after the officials called for the police chief to file charges in connection with the protest. A magistrate declined to pursue those charges.
Stay with WAVY.com for updates.
