Court Blocks Removal of Confederate Statue

A last-minute court order blocked the removal of the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from a park in Dallas even as work crews were prepared to take it down. US District Judge Sidney Fitzwater granted a temporary restraining order requested Wednesday by Hiram Patterson, the AP reports. His attorney said Patterson is a Dallas resident and a member of the Sons of the Confederate Veterans. The city council voted 13-1 earlier Wednesday to remove the statue, which is in Robert E. Lee Park just north of downtown. A city task force was to determine later what to do with it. Before the reprieve, police officers were stationed at the park while crews brought in a crane to remove the statue. (More Confederate statues stories.)