The City of Mobile violated Alabama’s Memorial Preservation Act when it took down a statue of Confederate Adm. Raphael Semmes, Attorney General Steve Marshall said Monday, and the city has agreed to pay the $25,000 penalty the law requires.
Marshall announced his determination in the case after the city acknowledged that the removal was intended to be permanent. According to the attorney general, the city agreed to pay the fine without a court order, and the state and the city entered into a legal agreement resolving the matter.
What the Law Requires
The Alabama Memorial Preservation Act, passed by the Legislature in 2017, restricts the removal or alteration of architecturally significant buildings, memorial buildings, memorial streets and monuments that have stood on public property for 40 years or more. The statute assigns enforcement authority to the attorney general, in the same way his office is empowered to bring civil actions to protect state interests.
The Statue’s Removal
“On June 4, the City of Mobile removed a 120-year-old statue of Admiral Raphael Semmes from public property within the city,” Marshall said. “Now that the City has acknowledged its intent to remove the monument permanently, the facts surrounding the removal and a plain reading of the law led me to determine that the Act was violated.”
The fine set by the act is a flat $25,000 for a violation.