Last Updated on February 17, 2022
Before Virginia Governor Ralph Northam’s plan to remove Confederate monuments and war memorials in Richmond could be realized, rioters toppled the statue of Confederate General Williams Carter Wickham in Monroe Park on Saturday night.
Located on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, Monroe Park has become a daily gathering point for far-left demonstrators, who claim they will not cease “until legislation is signed, until police departments are defunded, and we see the concrete changes that are being promised to us.”
According to a report from the Richmond Times-Dispatch, demonstrators have demanded that once the police are defunded, the money be reallocated “toward schools and housing in black communities.”
The statue of Confederate General Williams Carter Wickham in Monroe Park lays beside its base, covered in paint. pic.twitter.com/D6EgslhpS7
— The Commonwealth Times (@theCT) June 7, 2020
The statue of Confederate General Williams Carter Wickham in Monroe Park was pulled to the ground tonight. @8NEWS pic.twitter.com/nkC2LBAhr4
— Tyler Thrasher (@TylerJThrasher) June 7, 2020
The confederate Wickham statue in Monroe Park has been removed! #richmond #rva pic.twitter.com/N3Wc33sVqk
— AntifaSevenHills 🏴 (@ash_antifa) June 7, 2020
Richmond, Virginia’s capital city, has seen 7 straight nights of rioting and destruction, seemingly endorsed by Governor Northam and Richmond’s Democrat Mayor Levar Stoney.
Those on the ground in Richmond have reported that the city seems to have been turned over to AntiFa, Black Lives Matter, and other elements of the radical left, and last night was no different, with a mob turning their attention to the statue of General Wickham around 10 p.m., seemingly free to destroy the monument with no fear of repercussion.
Protests in Monroe Park have been organized using social media since at least May 29, when users began uploading flyers with details about the upcoming events.
heard it’s finna be a protest tonight in Monroe park. If y’all gone come out, be safe! I got some tips and your rights if you swipe left. Love y’all ✊🏽 be the change you wanna see pic.twitter.com/0rSsAV51et
— ••• shequoyah ••• (@quoyaaah) May 29, 2020
Share this information with everyone you can. #PROTEST tonight – Monroe Park @ 8:30pm when the rain stops. I will be sharing very important information. We may march up to lee monument. If you show up and don't see us come to Lee Monument or msg me. #RVA #BLM #BlackLivesMatter pic.twitter.com/m0WvnbDF40
— Ka Ninja (@Ninja__3x) June 4, 2020
Following the toppling of Wickham’s statue, a group of around 40 cars made their way onto Monument Avenue, surrounding the 60-foot tall memorial statue to General Robert E. Lee – a nationally registered historic landmark – purportedly to protect the statue from further vandalism.
