Gaston County leaders discuss lawsuit over Confederate statue removal in court - WSOC Charlotte

GASTON COUNTY, N.C. — A Gaston County Confederate monument has been at the center of controversy for years and now, it’s back in the spotlight.

A judge will now decide whether a lawsuit to remove the statue should be thrown out. The suit was filed about a year and a half ago and was one of the efforts to get the monument, which has stood for more than 100 years, taken down.

On Monday, the judge heard the motion for dismissal and attorneys hope to have a decision by the end of the week.

[ PREVIOUS: NC NAACP chapter sues Gaston County over Confederate monument ]

A lot is riding on the outcome.

In a sense, this is a case of a local NAACP president -- the face of the suit -- hoping to move a Confederate monument. The statue has been the center of rallies and counter-rallies for years.

NAACP president Chris Thomason said the three-story monument is a symbol of a time when Black people had no rights under the law.

“I feel like I’m less than a man,” Thomason said. “I feel like I don’t have equal protection under the law.”

“That’s a slippery path to go down”
Judge Stephen Warren challenges attorneys on both sides of the argument over removal of the confederate monument in front of the Gaston County Courthouse. pic.twitter.com/wSlQeoL4hS

— Ken (@kenlemonWSOC9) March 28, 2022

The attorney for the county didn’t address Thomason’s concerns Monday. He said the case must be thrown out because a North Carolina monuments act says only the general assembly can remove a monument erected for an event, person or military status.

“If the monuments law does not apply to the monument outside of this courthouse, I don’t know of a circumstance where it can apply,” said Defense Attorney Brad Overcash.

He said the attorneys demanding the county remove the monument haven’t clearly stated why the county and commissioners must act.

“The county doesn’t have the power to do what’s being asked,” Overcash said.

“Mr. Thomason rights were violated every time he walks by that monument. “
Attorney Abraham Rubert-Schewel pointed to @NAACP president Chris Thomason as he made his argument that the monument is source of pain for Thomason at a place where he seeks justice. pic.twitter.com/QCxhjFA7fw

— Ken (@kenlemonWSOC9) March 28, 2022

Plaintiff’s Attorney Abraham Rubert-Schewel said that wasn’t true.

“The monuments act applicability is a giant red herring,” he said.

Rubert-Schewel pointed out that Gaston County commissioners voted to have the Sons of Confederate Veterans remove the monument, but the group backed out of the deal.

He said even if the state monuments act applies here, the court can decide that having a large Confederate monument at the front door of the courthouse breaches a greater law -- the constitution.

“Every time [Thomason] walks past that monument, his equal protection rights are violated,” Rubert-Schewel said. “That would take supremacy over the monuments act.”

[ READ MORE: Commissioners cancel meeting over possible COVID-19 case; Marchers still show up to protest monument ]

The judge, who was critical of both sides, said he needs a couple of days to make his decision. That leaves the plaintiffs waiting to see if their case moves forward.

“I’m in it for the long haul so I’m going to stay as long as it takes,” Chris Thomason said.

Controversy has swirled around the statue for years, especially following the Charleston church shooting in 2015 and then again in 2017 when residents petitioned to remove it.

In a 6 to 1 vote in June 2020, county leaders decided to gift the monument to the Sons of Confederate Veterans, but when those plans fell through, commissioners voted to keep it.

(WATCH BELOW: Uptown Charlotte street officially drops name tied to Confederacy)

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2022-03-28 16:58:55Z
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