CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — A statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee has been vandalized in Charlottesville.
The Daily Progress reported Saturday (http://bit.ly/2sBr0Jc ) that red paint was splashed on the base of the statue in Emancipation Park, which had been known as Lee Park until the city council changed the name last month.
Black graffiti was sprayed on the statue overnight Friday as well.
A worker was making repairs Saturday morning.
The vandalism occurred ahead of a planned Ku Klux Klan rally in the city Saturday afternoon at a park not far from the statue.
The statue became an issue in this year’s gubernatorial election after Republican Corey Stewart used it as a rallying point. He decried calls for removal of the statue as misguided political correctness.
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Information from: The Daily Progress, http://www.dailyprogress.com
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