Federal Judge Issues Temporary Restraining Order to Prevent Removal of Confederate Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery

A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order to prevent the removal of a Confederate memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. The order was issued on Monday after a group called Defend Arlington, affiliated with Save Southern Heritage Florida, filed a lawsuit on Sunday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia.

The lawsuit accused the Army, which runs the cemetery, of violating regulations in seeking a hasty removal of the memorial. The lawsuit further claims that the removal of the memorial will desecrate, damage, and likely destroy the memorial, which has been in place for a long time, and impede its eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

Work to remove the memorial had begun Monday before the restraining order was issued, but the memorial remains in place on cemetery grounds. A cemetery spokesperson said Monday that Arlington is complying with the restraining order, but referred all other questions to the Department of the Army.

The temporary restraining order issued Monday by U.S. District Judge Rossie Alston said that a lawyer for the plaintiffs represented to the court that the work at the memorial involves the disturbance of gravesites. The restraining order will remain in effect until a hearing on the matter scheduled for January 6th.

The Confederate memorial at Arlington National Cemetery has been a source of controversy for many years, and the recent lawsuit and restraining order are just the latest development in the ongoing debate. It remains to be seen what will happen to the memorial in the coming weeks and months.