Richmond police break up attempt to destroy statue

RICHMOND, Va. (AP)- Police in Virginia’s capital city declared an unlawful assembly and broke up a gathering of protesters accused of attempting to pull down another Confederate monument.

Richmond police declared Sunday night’s gathering near the statue to Confederate Gen. J.E.B. Stuart unlawful and ordered demonstrators to leave the area along Monument Avenue around 9:30 p.m. A line of police in riot gear then moved in to encircle the monument, and were accused of deploying chemical agents against demonstrators.

Multiple Confederate monuments in Richmond have been rallying points and sites of clashes with police following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

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