The John Lewis Tribute Task Force announced Thursday that Jamaican sculptor Basil Watson would create a sculpture to honor the late Democratic congressman; the sculpture of the civil rights leader will stand outside the historic Decatur courthouse where a Confederate monument once stood.
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A Texas man was sentenced to 46 months in federal jail over brandishing an assault rifle at a George Floyd protest, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Prerak Shah announced in a Wednesday press release.
Emmanuel Quinones, 25, acknowledged “he brought a loaded Smith & Wesson .223 caliber semi-automatic rifle” to the protest protesting Floyd’s death, plea papers said, according to the Department of Justice press release. Quinones also acknowledged he made threatening posts online before the protest.
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A professional association of police chiefs and sheriffs from across the country announced more than 2,000 law enforcement officers were injured in the first weeks of protests that erupted over the summer following the police killing of George Floyd, according to a report released in October.
The Major Cities Chiefs Association, comprised of local law enforcement heads from the 69 largest police agencies in the United States and nine in Canada, revealed compiled data from protests between May 25 and July 31 in the association’s member cities.
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Roughly 50 or more Monument Avenue residents who live nearby the Robert E. Lee statue intend to file an amicus brief with the Virginia Supreme Court in support of Governor Ralph Northam’s plan to remove the controversial monument, a lawyer representing the group said.
Local residents organized the group called Circle Neighbors after a Richmond Circuit Court judge ruled earlier this week against three plaintiffs, who also live near the monument, seeking to block the Commonwealth from removing the statue.
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A Richmond Circuit Court judge ruled in favor of the Commonwealth and Governor Ralph Northam on Tuesday, allowing for the removal of the controversial Robert E. Lee statue on Richmond’s historic Monument Avenue.
In his decision, Judge W. Reilly Marchant lifted the temporary injunction, ordered by a separate judge back in August, which barred Nortam from taking action, but said the statue could not be removed until a proper appeal process has taken place.
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