LAKE CHARLES, La. (AP) — Hurricane Laura has toppled a Confederate monument in Louisiana just days after officials voted against moving it.
The South’s Defenders Monument formerly stood in front of the Calcasieu Parish courthouse.
On Thursday morning it could be seen lying on its side, with broken tree branches strewn on the grass around it.
The Calcasieu Parish Police Jury voted earlier this month not to move the statue after a sometimes heated debate.
Officials in New Orleans and in other states have decided to remove Confederate statues from places of honor over the past few months amid nationwide protests against racial inequality and police brutality.
LATEST HEADLINES:
LATEST HEADLINES
- VSP issues missing senior alert for 68-year-old Charlottesville woman
- Firefighters better prepare themselves to protect their communities
- Sixth victim in York County mass shooting, Robert Shook, has died
- Body of man who crashed off CBBT in Dec. found on beach at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, family confirms
- ‘My son was a hero’: 15-year-old killed after protecting his girlfriend family says
