Maryland’s Republican governor is seeking the removal from state capital grounds of a statue of the author of the infamous Dred Scott decision upholding slavery. Larry Hogan announced his stance on the statue of former Supreme Court Justice Roger B. Taney in a statement Tuesday afternoon, joining the push in multiple states and cities to remove symbols tied to the Confederacy. “I believe removing the Justice Roger B. Taney statue from the State House grounds is the right thing to do, and we will ask the State House Trust to take that action immediately," Hogan said in the statement. Taney wrote the 1857 Dred Scott opinion, which held that people of African descent could not be U.S. citizens and slaves could not sue for their freedom. CHARLOTTESVILLE VIOLENCE FUELS NEW PUSH TO REMOVE CONFEDERATE STATUES, SYMBOLSTaney, who served as chief justice of the Supreme Court from 1836 to 1864, was from Maryland.

Source: Fox News August 15, 2017 20:03 UTC