Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced Wednesday that his office has filed suit in Jefferson County Circuit Court against the City of Birmingham and Mayor William Bell for violating state law by constructing barriers to deliberately obscure a Confederate monument in the city’s downtown Linn Park.
“In accordance with the law, my office has determined that by affixing tarps and placing plywood around the Linn Park Memorial such that it is hidden from view, the Defendants have ‘altered’ or ‘otherwise disturbed’ the memorial in violation of the letter and spirit of the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act,” said Marshall. “The City of Birmingham does not have the right to violate the law and leaves my office with no choice but to file suit.”
The Alabama Memorial Preservation Act, was passed by state lawmakers earlier this year and signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey. It prohibits the removal of historic statues more than 40 years old from public spaces.
The Confederate monument in question in Linn Park was dedicated in 1905, and thus is protected by the law.
