The statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was removed from the U.S. Capitol overnight at the request of Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam.
The Lee statue was among more than a dozen Confederate figures that are on display in the Capitol, many of them dedicated more than a century ago. Northam, a Democrat, promised in June to work to remove the statue from the building. Virginia gave the statue to the Capitol in 1909.
Each state commissions two statues to remain on display in the building. The bronze Lee statue was located on the first floor in an area known as the crypt.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called for the removal of all of the Capitol’s statues and portraits portraying Confederate officers, but the bipartisan committee of lawmakers overseeing the National Statuary Hall collection blocked the move and said only states have the authority to recall statues they commissioned.
Virginia’s remaining statue in the Capitol depicts George Washington, located in the Rotunda. State officials will replace Lee with a statue of civil rights icon Barbara Rose Johns.
