“Confederate monuments have become symbols of modern white supremacy and neo-Nazism,” the university’s president said.
The University of Texas at Austin abruptly took down four Confederate statues — including one of Gen. Robert E. Lee — on a prominent part of the campus early Monday morning.
A statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee is removed from the University of Texas campus, early Monday morning.
Eric Gay / AP
The university's president ordered the immediate removal of the statues, saying that Confederate monuments — which were praised as "beautiful" by President Trump — have become "symbols of modern white supremacy and neo-Nazism."
A statue of Confederate Postmaster General John H. Reagan is removed from the University of Texas campus
Eric Gay / AP
In a written statement, UT's president, Gregory L. Fenves, announced that four Confederate statues depicting Robert E. Lee, Albert Sidney Johnston, John Reagan and James Stephen Hogg were being removed from the Main Mall following discussions with student leaders, alumni, and staff after the deadly violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.
"Last week, the horrific displays of hatred at the University of Virginia and in Charlottesville shocked and saddened the nation," Fenves wrote. "These events make it clear, now more than ever, that Confederate monuments have become symbols of modern white supremacy and neo-Nazism."
The violence in Charlottesville was sparked after white supremacists held a rally to protest the removal of a Confederate statue. Heather Heyer, a 32-year-old woman, was killed after a white supremacist allegedly ran his car into a crowd of anti-racist protesters.
After failing to strongly condemn the rally, Trump not only defended white supremacists but also compared Lee — a Confederate general who fought to preserve slavery — to founding fathers such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
He described Confederate statues as "beautiful" and expressed concern that their removal "will be greatly missed and never able to be comparably replaced!"
In the past, Trump has also praised Lee as a "great general."
"Erected during the period of Jim Crow laws and segregation, the statues represent the subjugation of African Americans," Fenves wrote. "That remains true today for white supremacists who use them to symbolize hatred and bigotry."
Confederate statutes removed from the University of Texas are secured to a trailer.
Eric Gay / AP
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