RICHMOND, Va. — Workers have removed a statue of Harry F. Byrd Sr., a former Virginia governor, U.S. senator and staunch segregationist, from the state’s Capitol Square.
A crane hoisted the larger-than-life statue off its pedestal and workers strapped it to a truck to be hauled away.
State officials said Byrd's statue and related pieces will be held in storage until lawmakers determine their final disposition.
Byrd was a Democrat who ran Virginia's most powerful political machine for decades until his death in 1966.
He was considered the architect of the state’s racist “massive resistance” policy to public school integration.
