ALABAMA ATTORNEY GENERAL SUES MADISON COUNTY OVER MONUMENT MOVE

Associated Press

Attorney General Steve Marshall released a video message to the people of Alabama on Monday morning upon having to pursue a fifth fine in 2020 against a city or county for violating the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act.

On the night of October 22, 2020 or the early morning of October 23, 2020, the monument was removed from the Courthouse Square. It was relocated to nearby Maple Hill Cemetery in a section containing graves of Confederate soldiers.

MADISON COUNTY, Ala. — Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said Friday that he has filed a lawsuit against Madison County for its removal of a Confederate monument from the county courthouse property in downtown Huntsville.

Marshall said the removal of the monument violated the Memorial Preservation Act passed by the state Legislature in 2017.

The Madison County Commission had the monument moved to Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville on Oct. 23. Commissioners have said the relocation of the monument to Maple Hill, where Confederate soldiers are buried, was done lawfully.

The monument has been the center of controversy and protests since the deaths of George Floyd in Minnesota and Breonna Taylor in Louisville earlier this year. The monument was vandalized in August.

According to Marshall’s office, the county could face a $25,000 fine for the monument removal.