ACTION 8 UPDATE: Judge reverses earlier decision and allows removal of Confederate memorial at Arlington National Cemetery

Workers prepare a Confederate Memorial for removal in Arlington National Cemetery on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023 in Arlington, Va. The Confederate memorial is to be removed from Arlington National Cemetery in northern Virginia in the coming days, part of the push to remove symbols that commemorate the Confederacy from military-related facilities. (AP Photo/Kevin Wolf)

ACTION 8 UPDATE: A federal judge has lifted an injunction that briefly blocked Arlington National Cemetery from removing a century-old memorial there to Confederate soldiers.

Judge Rossie Alston said at a hearing in federal court Tuesday in Alexandria, Virginia, that he issued the temporary injunction Monday only after receiving an urgent phone call from the memorial’s supporters. They alleged that gravesites adjacent to the memorial were being desecrated and disturbed as contractors began work to remove the memorial.

But Alston said he toured the site before Tuesday’s hearing and saw the site being treated respectfully.

A commission recommended the memorial’s removal last year after reviewing names of military bases commemorating Confederate leaders.

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