Gwinnett Confederate monument dispute escalates as group seeks review
GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - The Georgia division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and its Lawrenceville chapter are asking the state’s highest court to review their lawsuit against Gwinnett County over the removal of a Confederate monument from the square in downtown Lawrenceville, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
What we know:
The appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court comes after the Court of Appeals ruled that the county is protected from such lawsuits under sovereign immunity. But the Confederate group argues that state law, which prohibits the removal of Confederate monuments, overrides that immunity.
PREVIOUS STORY: Group refiles lawsuit over removal of Confederate monument outside Gwinnett Historic Courthouse
The granite monument—featuring a Confederate flag, soldier carving, and quote from Winston Churchill—was installed in 1993 using funds raised by the local chapter. It was removed by the Gwinnett County Commission in February 2021, following repeated vandalism and safety concerns.
SIMILAR STORIES
- John Lewis statue replaces Confederate monument in Decatur Square
- Sons of Confederate Veterans gather again for event at Stone Mountain Park
- Group threatens lawsuit over removal of Confederate flags from Stone Mountain Park trail
- Atlanta to remove Confederate memorial at Oakland Cemetery
- Atlanta City Council looks at changing Confederate street names
- Federal court sides with Georgia city over Confederate flag ban lawsuit
A year after its removal, a marker honoring Charles Hale, a Black man lynched in Lawrenceville in 1911, was installed on the same corner by the city and local nonprofits.
The county had offered to relocate the monument to a Confederate cemetery in Jackson County, but the Sons of Confederate Veterans declined, citing a state law that requires any relocation be to a place of "similar prominence" in the same county—and explicitly excludes cemeteries and museums.
The plaintiffs are seeking financial damages, including triple the cost to repair or replace the monument.
What's next:
Meanwhile, the group has also filed a separate lawsuit aimed at stopping a planned "truth-telling" exhibit at Stone Mountain Park, which is home to the nation’s largest Confederate monument.
RELATED: Confederacy group sues Stone Mountain Park for planning exhibit on slavery, segregation