Owner Of Property Where Confederate Statue Sits Asks For Its Removal

The owner of a former courthouse building in Winston-Salem where a Confederate statue sits is asking for its removal. This is in line with the wishes of the city.

The letter from attorneys representing Winston Courthouse LLC is addressed to the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the group that owns the Confederate monument.

The property owner says it's not taking any political position. Their concern is tenant safety. The property includes residential apartments.  

Mayor Allen Joines says it's the right move ahead of planned events around the monument this weekend. City officials want to move the statue, which has been vandalized twice, to historic Salem Cemetery.

“Their objective is in concert with ours obviously," says Joines. "I can understand where they're coming from, that their primary responsibility obviously is for the tenants of their apartment building there and they want to make sure that their tenants are safe and can have a peaceful lifestyle there at their apartments.”

WFDD reached out to the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The group wouldn't comment on the recent letter, but in previous statements has called the city's threat of legal action “shocking” and “dishonorable,” and vowed to work to keep the statue in place.