In an op-ed published to Medium on Tuesday evening, Gov. Roy Cooper said that Confederate statues and monuments should be removed from state property.
“It’s time to move forward,” Cooper said. “These monuments should come down.”
Cooper’s comments come a day after protesters toppled a Confederate statue in Durham in front of the Old Courthouse. Takiyah Thompson, a student at NC Central University, has since been arrested for tying a rope around the statue’s neck.
Durham County Sheriff Mike Andrews says that felony charges will be filed against those who toppled the statue.
“Let me be clear, no one is getting away with what happened,” Andrews said on Tuesday.
Cooper divided his plan to remove the statues into three parts, with the first being a call to the state legislature to repeal a 2015 law that prevents removal or relocation of monuments.
“Cities, counties and the state must have the authority and opportunity to make these decisions,” Cooper said.
Second, Cooper has asked the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources to determine the costs and logistics of removing Confederate monuments from state property, as well as any alternatives for placement in museums or other historical sites.
Third, Cooper called the state legislature to vote down a bill that grants immunity from liability to motorists who strike protestors. The bill has passed the House, but has not been heard by the Senate.
“Those who attack protesters, weaponizing their vehicles like terrorists, should find no safe haven in our state,” Cooper said.
Cooper ended his statement by quoting President Abraham Lincoln, challenging North Carolinians to “finish the work we are in to bind up the nation’s wounds.”
“President Lincoln was on point,” Cooper said. “We must do what we know is right, and we must do it the right way.”
