A judge on Wednesday voided a controversial settlement that the University of North Carolina system reached with the Sons of Confederate Veterans over a contentious Confederate monument, reported National Public Radio.
The monument, a statue known as “Silent Sam,” was toppled in August 2018 by protesters who said it was a racist symbol. In November 2019, the university signed an agreement with the Confederate group that required the school to give the group the statue as well as $2.5 million for its preservation and display.
“Silent Sam” statueOrange County Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour, who originally approved the settlement, ruled Wednesday that the Confederate group didn’t have any standing to bring its lawsuit forward.
Baddour made his pronouncement at a hearing on a motion to stop the settlement from going ahead. The motion was filed by five UNC students and a faculty member, represented by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.
