RICHMOND, Va. -- A judge dismissed a federal lawsuit and denied a request for a preliminary injunction to stop the removal of the Robert E. Lee statue on Monument Avenue.
The lawsuit was filed by a Henrico man named William Davis, who argued that the removal of the Lee statue violates “federally designated landmark law.”
Davis asked the court to compel Governor Northam to “cease and desist” removal of the statue, and restore its appearance to before “riots and vandalism.”
Judge Henry Hudson not only denied the injunction he dismissed the case entirely, explaining that the plaintiff lacks standing.
"Plaintiff has failed to establish the requisite elements to confer standing in this case," Hudson wrote in his opinion. "The matter cannot proceed in its present form. As a result, Plaintiff's Motion will be denied as moot... and Plaintiff's Amended Complaint will be dismissed."
The lawsuit was originally filed in the Eastern District of Virginia earlier this month.
