Officials in cities across the South have renewed calls to remove these symbols. Across the country, 718 Confederate monuments and statues remain, with nearly 300 of them in Georgia, Virginia and North Carolina. In some cases, sheriffs argue, the smartest and safest option would be to let protesters destroy artifacts and later pursue criminal charges. Since then, there has been a nationwide push to remove Confederate symbols from public places but it’s also been met with strong resistance. In April, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu ordered the removal of multiple Confederate statues and faced a stiff backlash.

Source: Fox News August 15, 2017 19:38 UTC