The Confederate monument is gone from the McDonough Square, but the legal fallout remains.
A lawsuit was filed September 8 by Georgia Minutemen LLC against the four Henry County commissioners – Dee Clemmons, Bruce Holmes, Vivian Thomas and June Wood – who voted in July to remove the statue from its home of more than 100 years. Also named as a defendant is county manager Cheri Hobson-Matthews, who was said to have effected the removal.
According to a statement released last week by Georgia Minutemen, the suit named them in their individual capacities for performing what the organization claims is an illegal act, thereby leaving them unprotected from the state’s sovereign immunity law.
The basis of the suit appears to be Georgia code section 50-3-1, which contains the following: “It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, or other entity acting without authority to mutilate, deface, defile, abuse contemptuously, relocate, remove, conceal, or obscure any privately owned monument, plaque, marker, or memorial which is dedicated to, honors, or recounts the military service of any past or present military personnel of this state, the United States of America or the several states thereof, or the Confederate States of America or the several states thereof.”
“The new lawsuit filed by the Georgia Minutemen does an ‘end around’ with regard to the sovereign immunity issue by naming the commissioners in their individual capacity where immunity is limited to lawful acts,” according to the statement. “Georgia’s Monument Protection Act, arguably the strongest in the nation, allows for both civil and criminal suits against public officials who violate its stringent protections of monuments in Georgia. This suit is important in that it would be a precedent-setting case which could be used as a tool for preventing the unlawful removal of monuments in other places.”
The plaintiffs claim that if the commissioners lose in court, they will be responsible as individuals for triple the costs of replacing or restoring the monument to its original place on the square, along with all legal fees and any damages a jury may award.
Georgia Minutemen founder Ray McBerry was present when the monument was removed and faces a state obstruction charge for refusing to vacate the sidewalk in McDonough so that the crane company could begin the task of removing the monument. McBerry stated that he informed the officers that the work could not proceed legally because no construction permit had been posted in advance. He was arrested and ultimately received a citation.
McBerry maintains that he was proven correct the next day, discovering through an open records request that the county had not obtained the appropriate permit as required by law, but the charges against him have not been dismissed.
“It is sad when we have reached a point in America when even monuments to our heroes that have stood for more than a hundred years are under attack,” McBerry said. “It is time that Georgians, and all Americans, begin to stand up together and say, ‘No more!’ Our legislature last year wisely gave the people of the sovereign state of Georgia the tools necessary to prevent this very thing in the form of the strongest monument protection bill in the country … and we intend to use it. Let this be a warning shot to all public officials in this state who are considering removing our monuments … you will be next. We’re coming for you in the courtroom.”
This is so Great, These Henry County Commissioners should step down, immediately.
I applaud McBerry for his courage to stand up for what is right. It is curious as to why the State Obstruction charge has not been dropped, if he was proven to be correct, according to the law.
I know some people may not like the monuments but it breaks my heart to see them being attacked. They have been in their place since before I was born
And I am disappointed in the way our Officials who chose to remove Henry County’s Monument, steps on the toes of the law and Henry County Residents. There should be no room for any Official(s) who Overstep the boundaries of their position(s) or choose to by pass the law.
Start a recall to have them removed from office. They should be facing state felony charges for having the monument removed. If found guilty that should keep them out of office.
I do hope that these four commissioners are at least legally entwined in this for years. Make em’ hurt Ray!
Commissioner Dee Clemmons has been a thorn in the side of Confederate groups for a long time. She is the main reason that Nash Farms no longer has their battle field re-enactments.
They will use taxpayer dollars for their defense.
They don’t care.
Fine, so long as they lose and Zack’s re-erected.
Thank you Mr. McBerry, for standing your ground. You are a hero to our men who served in the confederacy. It angers me that our world today has destroyed so much of our history. These events happened and are no longer taught in schools. The public officials of today think they can take history away, and they think they have the right just because they do not agree with something it is their so call duty to remove or destroy it, erase it from history. What makes it even more damning is when they say it is racist, and then turn around and replace all of them with Black heroes. They rename streets, buildings, parks, anything and everything that was in honor of the Confederate history.My question to them, who do these damages, is where does racism end, as soon after “White People” has been mentioned. It seems kind of hypocritical and much more racist to replace all these things where other people do not agree with certain African American/Black ideas.
I read an article today that in Richmond, VA. they are removing absolutely anything and everything related to the Confederacy and will be replacing it with “their” heroes. Funny thing, this was what one of the Campus faculty had to say.
“Rao backed the board’s move, saying “VCU rightfully serves all human beings” and
we must be dedicated to the truth.”
So, I ask, how do they serve ALL HUMAN BEINGS and be DEDICATED to the Truth, when they literally plan to replace all with Black Heroes and not evenly share the space with White Heroes? I say, if they are so dedicated to the truth, and serve all human beings, that is about the lamest thing that could have been said. The Civil War, the Confederacy and the men who fought for it, is the TRUTH.
More than likely most of us today had an ancestor who served, died or was wounded or maimed for life in this war and at homes trying to survive, and deserves to be remembered. Just remember, those who stood behind this removal in McDonough, GA. and supported the political officials to do so, are just as guilty as the officials.
Yes, this is America and Black have just as much right as you do to enjoy the park without the negativity of the confederacy staring down on us. Cheers and kudos to all to took part in the removal of the statues.
If the people of Georgia win this lawsuit, it could spell TROUBLE for other localities who want to ride the Politically Correct Right Now train by removing statues that are really no problem. The problem is with the socialists, communists, terrorists and traitors who are running rampant in the United States right now, following their agenda to DISMANTLE THE U.S., and replace our society with their own-that of servitude to big government, more regulation, dependence on government handouts, etc., just what we have seen for years. Yes, Mr. McBerry, it is time for all of us to STAND UP TO THESE TREACHEROUS SNAKES-Bravo to you folks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I applaud the actions of Mr. McBerry, and the people who stand for freedom in the great state of Georgia and the United States. I sincerely hope that justice will prevail, and the runaway train of “political correctness” will be stopped in its tracks. It is time that we, the Majority of law-abiding, hard-working, tax-paying, proud Americans STAND UP AND SAY “NO MORE”!!!!!!!