BREAKING: Trump-Appointed Judge Halts Removal Of Arlington 'Reconciliation Monument'

On Monday, a judge issued a temporary restraining order that prevents the Biden administration from removing the Confederate Memorial, a statue arguably constructed to display the reconciliation between the North and the South following the Civil War, in the Arlington National Cemetary. Removal efforts were underway on Monday before the federal judge halted them.

A group called Defend Arlington filed a lawsuit in Virginia on Sunday to prevent the statue's removal. Judge Rossie Alston temporarily stopped the removal to consider the case, with hearings scheduled for Wednesday. "The removal will desecrate, damage, and likely destroy the Memorial longstanding at ANC as a grave marker and impede the Memorial's eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places," the lawsuit alleges, per The Hill.

The plaintiffs had previously brought a lawsuit in Washington, D.C., to stop the removal. However, the D.C. judge dismissed the case. In his order, Alston demanded that Defend Arlington explain how the D.C. case should impact whether or not he extends his restraining order past Wednesday. A spokesman for the group, David McCallister, said Monday that the temporary order is a victory and added that the case has more support due to evidence showing that the statue's removal would disturb grave sites.

The Department of Defense mandated that the statue be removed by January 1, 2024, after Congress established the Naming Commission in 2021, which sought to rid the military of the statues, monuments, and names that commemorated Confederate soldiers or generals who fought the Union from 1861 to 1865.

A spokesman for the Arlington National Cemetary told The New York Times that the statue after fencing was constructed around it over the weekend, would be removed by the end of the week and sent to storage. What will come of it after that point has yet to be determined.

Over 40 Republican members of Congress signed a letter last week demanding Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin reverse the decision to remove the statue, arguing that the memorial does not honor the Confederacy but instead "commemorates reconciliation and national unity."

The Republican congressmen explained that the Naming Commission overstepped its authority and that the removal should be suspended until Congress completes appropriations for 2024. Despite their efforts, Austin refused to submit to their demands and proceeded with the removal. Given Judge Alston's order, however, it would appear that the Biden administration's plans have been foiled, at least temporarily.

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