Hurricane Takes Down Statue Officials Had Voted to Keep

Two weeks ago, officials in Lake Charles, Louisiana, declined to remove a controversial Confederate monument. This week, Hurricane Laura went ahead and toppled the statue herself. The South's Defenders Monument, a statue featuring a Confederate soldier that used to stand in front of the Calcasieu Parish Courthouse, was found fallen from its pedestal Wednesday morning, the Daily Advertiser reports. The Parish Police Jury had on Aug. 13 voted 10-5, to keep the monument where it was, after taking public comments on the matter since late June. "It is a blessing, a small blessing, in a very devastating situation," one local who supported its removal tells the New York Times. Officials are not yet sure what will happen to the monument now. Laura left at least six dead and destroyed an "untold number" of homes and buildings, per NBC. (More Confederate statues stories.)