MATHEWS, Va. (AP) — A county board in Virginia is moving ahead with plans to deed the public land under a Confederate statue on the historic courthouse green to a private preservation group to prevent the statue from being taken down in the future.
The Washington Post reports that the Mathews County Board of Supervisors has called a special public hearing for Tuesday night as it prepares to transfer the property.
The newspaper reports that it was unclear whether a final vote is also planned for Tuesday. However, the board has already drafted a deed and voted to waive county subdivision rules to allow it to carve out a 21-by-22-foot plot of public land under the statue.
The local chapter of the NAACP has threatened a lawsuit over any effort to transfer the property. Some residents have spoken out against the idea of giving public land to a private group, let alone protecting a Confederate monument in perpetuity.
Officials with the state Department of Historic Resources said they are not aware of any other locality in Virginia considering such a step.
Copyright 2022 by the Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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