City councilors voted unanimously to cover the monuments during a raucous council meeting earlier this week where activists and residents demanded to know how the Aug. 12 rally had got so badly out of hand.

The council wants to remove the statues of Confederate Army generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, but cannot do because of a pending lawsuit challenging the city’s plan. So the council ordered them to be covered.

The Aug. 12 rally was organized by white nationalists who objected to the plans to remove the statues from a local park. A 32-year-old local woman, Heather Heyer, was killed when a man crashed a car into a crowd of anti-racism counter-protesters.

City councilors voted unanimously to cover the monuments during a raucous council meeting earlier this week where activists and residents demanded to know how the Aug. 12 rally had got so badly out of hand.

The council wants to remove the statues of Confederate Army generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, but cannot do because of a pending lawsuit challenging the city’s plan. So the council ordered them to be covered.

The Aug. 12 rally was organized by white nationalists who objected to the plans to remove the statues from a local park. A 32-year-old local woman, Heather Heyer, was killed when a man crashed a car into a crowd of anti-racism counter-protesters.

A growing number of U.S. political leaders have called for the removal of statues honoring the pro-slavery Confederacy. Civil rights activists charge the statues promote racism while advocates contend they are a reminder of their heritage.