Protester arrested while opposing removal of Confederate statue in Georgia

‘Our freedom of speech was held back,’ claims demonstrator

A protester was arrested and charged with obstruction for refusing to leave as a Confederate statue was removed a public square in the city of McDonagh, Georgia.

The monument was taken down overnight on Wednesday by workers who used a crane to winch it from its pedestal in McDonagh Square.

The statue was supposed to be taken down on Monday, but the removal was delayed because of an issue with contractors, local TV news station 11 Alive reported.

The statue, which had stood in the square in the centre of McDonough for more than 100 years, was removed after the the Henry County Commission voted earlier this month for it to be taken down.

The vote came amid national protests against police brutality and racism, following the death of unarmed black man George Floyd while in the custody of a then Minneapolis police officer.

A small group gathered to protest as the monument was removed and multiple law enforcement officials forced demonstrators away from the statue and to the pavement. One was arrested.

“We were held back, our freedom of speech was held back because they wouldn’t allow us to get off the curb over here,” local resident and protester Stanley Layfield told WAGA-TV.

Over the last couple of months there has been a growing conversation in the US about the place of symbols of the Confederacy, following Black Lives Matter protests.

Monuments to Confederate leaders have been taken down in states across the US over the last few months, while the flag has been banned from Nascar events and removed from Marine Corps installations.

“The Confederate battle flag has all too often been co-opted by violent extremist and racist groups whose divisive beliefs have no place in our Corps,” the service said in a statement that explained its decision.

Despite Georgia governor Brian Kemp passing a law in 2019 that protected monuments to Confederate leaders in the state from being altered or discarded, many local officials have taken action themselves.

In June, a Confederate monument that was erected in an Atlanta suburb was removed, while a memorial outside county courthouse in Conyers was taken down earlier this month.