Northam Denies National Guard Request, Confederate Statue Removed In Alexandria

From the Virginia Mercury:

By Ned Oliver; June 3, 2020

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• Gov. Ralph Northam rejected President Donald Trump’s request to send National Guard troops to Washington. “I am not going to send our men and women in uniform — a very proud National Guard — to Washington for a photo op,” Northam said.—Associated Press

• Early Monday morning, crews removed the Confederate statue “Appomattox” from an intersection in Alexandria where it has stood for 131 years. City leaders had asked the statue’s owners, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, to take down the monument after the General Assembly passed legislation repealing a law that banned local governments from removing war memorials.—The Washington Post

• A day after police in Richmond fired tear gas into a large crowd of peaceful protesters, Mayor Levar Stoney apologized during a chaotic meeting with protesters at City Hall and, in an act of solidarity and contrition, joined Tuesday night’s march, which once again numbered in the thousands.—WVTF

• Smaller groups of protesters took to the streets in Danville, Fredericksburg, Hampton, Manassas and Norfolk. Aside from minor scuffles, the events were peaceful and there was little of the violence and property damage that prompted Gov. Ralph Northam to activate the National Guard over the weekend.—The Register & Bee, The Free Lance-Star, Daily Press, Prince William Times, WHRO

• Gov. Ralph Northam’s executive orders are facing yet another legal challenge, this time from the owner of a Beatles-themed restaurant in Virginia Beach.—The Virginian-Pilot

• Christopher Newport University’s president is facing a backlash from students and alumni after a letter addressing protests around the country cited the destruction of a luxury clothing shop owned by his son in Richmond.—Daily Press

• “A North Carolina man was sentenced Tuesday to 10 months in prison for anonymously threatening on social media to lynch a Muslim-American man who ran for a state Senate seat in Virginia.”—Associated Press

• Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, “appeared to be the only elected official of any prominence” sharing hoax social media threats suggesting violent assassination plots against white people.—The Daily Beast

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