Tampa Federal judge Virginia Maria Hernandez Covington dismisses Pro-Monument lawsuit against the tyrants of Lakeland, Florida. Preliminary Injunction hearing scheduled 05 FEB canceled. Will the vultures move in on the monument?
Said Chief Trial Counsel Lyons of the decision: “Standing continues to be a problem – there seems to be a judicial group-think that absolutely no one has standing to challenge the ISIS style actions of corrupt local governments.” Said H. K. Edgerton “I guess we should be thankful that Pro Monument attorneys are not just summarily shot from the bench as they enter the courtroom!”
Most of the Confederate Community’s legal victories have been in the appeals courts, this case with the others needs to ultimately decided in the Supreme Court of the United States. We are on our way!
20 NOV 2018 Lakeland – A lawsuit was filed in Federal Court today against the City of Lakeland and others to prevent the removal of the Historic Veterans Cenotaph from Munn Park. The suit was filed in in response to the action by the Lakeland City Commission last night that reversed the previous decision to require private donations to pay for the cost of taking the cenotaph out of the park.
The Lawsuit includes a request for an Emergency Temporary Restraining Order to that would prevent the City or its employees or contractors to begin removing the monument or to obstruct it from public view.
“The City gave us no other option” said David McCallister, attorney for the plaintiffs. At its regular City Commission meeting last night, the May 7, 2018 decision about who would pay for the Cenotaph’s removal was reversed in a 5-2 vote, with Stephanie Madden casting the deciding vote to change course and allow public funds to be used. Madden attributed her decision to the large turnout of supporters of taking down the memorial, while acknowledging the overwhelming number of calls and emails she had received asking her not to change her mind.
“It really was a mob scene. Most of the people that spoke really want the Cenotaph destroyed, and we don’t expect it to last long in Veterans Park, if we lose our appeal to the Court” said McCallister. One individual who supported the move said of the process “leaving it tells a story but moving it tells a different story” he said. “That’s really one of the issues at hand here”. Madden changed her vote after over two hours of veiled threats and attacks of Commissioners Reed and Franklin, who had already expressed their intent not to change their vote. “If we heard them called racist once we heard it a hundred times” noted McCallister.
HK Edgerton, past president of the NAACP in Asheville, NC, who had appeared before the Commissioners multiple times in the past imploring them not to succumb to the lies and attacks on the veterans memorial, reacted to notification the lawsuit had been filed by saying he is “looking forward to getting some justice”. Mr. Edgerton had a slight altercation with Commissioner Don Selvage last year when Selvage refused to accept a gift of a book about Edgerton’s March to Texas and other information about the service of Black Confederate Veterans.
Edgerton said of Selvage, who was brought back on the Council to fill the vacancy left by Michael Dunn’s resignation Edgerton “It’s pretty bad that people come down here from the north and begin attacking our history and heritage. The only reason he is back on the council is to ‘dog out’ the South”.
“They have the contractor already lined up so it really is a race” at this point concluded McCallister.
Exec
February 15, 2019
Monuments