Judge weighs whether to block removal of Confederate memorial at Arlington Cemetery

By MATTHEW BARAKAT
Associated Press

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A federal judge is expressing strong misgivings about extending a restraining order that is blocking Arlington National Cemetery from removing a century-old memorial there to Confederate soldiers. Judge Rossie Alston said at a hearing in federal court Tuesday in Alexandria, Virginia, that he issued the temporary injunction Monday after receiving an urgent phone call from the memorial’s supporters. They alleged that gravesites adjacent to the memorial were being desecrated and disturbed as contractors began work to remove the memorial. He said he toured the site before Tuesday’s hearing and saw the site being treated respectfully. A commission recommended the memorial’s removal last year after reviewing names of military bases commemorating Confederate leaders.