Hurricane Laura destroys Confederate monument after officials vote to keep it

The decision to keep the statue in place was confirmed with a vote of 10-4 on August 13.

Aug 30, 2020

Toppled rail cars are seen on August 28, 2020 in Westlake, Louisiana. (Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images)

Hurricane Laura, which wrecked parts of Louisiana and Texas, has destroyed a Confederate monument in Lake Charles, Louisiana. The damage comes two weeks after local officials voted to keep it in place.

The Category 4 storm ripped the statue of a young Confederate soldier carrying a flag over his left shoulder, from its base. The soldier tumbled and landed on its side.

The decision to keep the statue in place was confirmed with a vote of 10-4 on August 13.

The Confederate soldier, laying on the grass outside the Calcasieu Parish Courthouse, has caused controversy. Many have begun to discuss whether lawmakers should rebuild the Confederate monument or not, Fox News reported.

As of reporting, on Change.org, a petition calling for the monument’s complete removal garnered more than 2,000 signatures out of its stretch goal of 2,500.

Lake Charles and Calcasieu Parish has been filled with controversy and tension after our parish government by a vote of 10-5 refused to take down the Confederate South’s Defenders Monument.

Hurricane Laura had other plans and brought it down herself. pic.twitter.com/HmyCVlJF8k
— Commish. Davante Lewis (@davantelewis) August 27, 2020

“On the lawn of the Calcasieu Parish Courthouse in Lake Charles, La., looms a century-old memorial to those who fought and died not for the people of the South but for the institution of slavery. The people of Lake Charles and Calcasieu Parish once again voice their desire to destroy the statue and remove the memory of slavery from its literal and figurative pedestal within the community,” the petition stated.

“We have faith that Lake Charles will not fall behind the rest of the nation as America commits itself to discouraging the veneration of those who fought to hold the South back in time,” the petition continued.

In June, local authorities hosted a survey regarding the statue. It received more than 900 responses from the public.

“Of the total responses, 878 were against relocating the monument,” Calcasieu Parish Administrator Bryan Beam told the Daily Advertiser, a Louisiana newspaper. “And 67 were for relocating the monument.”

The statue was meant to honor soldiers within the community and nearby the parishes.

This is not the only time the statue was destroyed. In 1995, storm wind damaged the monument by toppling it over. It was repaired and reinforced, Fox News reported.

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