From The Tribune staff reports
BIRMINGHAM — Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has filed a lawsuit against the city of Birmingham following its removal of the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Monday.
The removal was in violation of the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act.
The move was expected. Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfiin admitted on Monday that the fine the city might face for violating a state law banning the removal of Confederate and other long-standing monuments is more affordable than the cost of continued unrest in the city.
Marshall responded to the move on Monday afternoon indicating that he would have no recourse but to pursue a new civil complaint should Birmingham move ahead with removal.
“On Monday, I advised Mayor Woodfin that the removal of the 115-year-old Confederate Soldiers and Sailors monument in Birmingham’s Linn Park would violate the law and that I would fulfill my duty to enforce it,” Marshall said. “Monday night, the City of Birmingham removed the monument and today I am filing a new lawsuit against the City for violating Alabama law.
The Memorial Preservation Act was passed in 2017 by the Alabama Legislature to protect architecturally significant buildings, memorial buildings, memorial streets, and monuments located on public property for 40 or more years. The Act specifically charges the Attorney General with the duty of enforcement, much as he is authorized to prosecute all civil actions necessary to protect the rights and interests of the State.
“The State of Alabama first filed suit against the City of Birmingham in 2017 after the City erected barriers around the monument in Linn Park. In November 2019, the Alabama Supreme Court sided with the State and determined that the City of Birmingham had violated the law and was subject to the Act’s penalties. However, the Court held that any violation of the Act was punishable only by a one-time fine of $25,000 per violation. Though legislation was filed in the 2020 session seeking to amend the penalties provision of the Act in response to the Court’s ruling, that legislation failed to become law,” Marshall said.
The monument was fully removed late Tuesday night.