The Latest: Confederate statues gone at University of Texas

AUSTIN, Texas – The Latest on the removal of statues of Robert E. Lee and other prominent Confederate figures from the main area of campus (all times local):

9:15 a.m.

The University of Texas says statues of Robert E. Lee and other prominent Confederate figures have been removed from the main area of campus in Austin.

University of Texas President Greg Fenves announced late Sunday night that the statues would be removed, and crews soon began the work. Fenves said such monuments have become “symbols of modern white supremacy and neo-Nazism.”

University spokesman J.B. Bird said Monday morning that all of the statues have now been removed.

Fenves said statues of Lee, Confederate Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston and Confederate Postmaster General John H. Reagan will be moved to the Briscoe Center for American History on campus.

The debate over public memorials for Confederate figures roared into national conversation last week after one woman was killed and numerous others wounded in a clash between white supremacists and counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia.

___

12:30 a.m.

University of Texas President Greg Fenves has ordered the removal of statues of Robert E. Lee and other prominent Confederate figures from a main area of campus, saying such monuments have become “symbols of modern white supremacy and neo-Nazism.”

Fenves announced the move late Sunday night.

The university moved a statue of former Confederate President Jefferson Davis from its perch near the campus clock tower to a history museum in 2015. Fenves now says statues of Lee, Confederate Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston and Confederate Postmaster General John H. Reagan also must be moved.

The debate over public memorials for Confederate figures roared into national conversation last week after one person was killed in a clash between white supremacists and counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia.