Press release from The North Carolina Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans:
The North Carolina Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans is offering a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for damage to the Robert E. Lee memorial located in Pack Square Park in Asheville.
The front of the memorial, displaying an image of General Robert E. Lee, was intentionally scratched and scraped sometime during Easter weekend. This is the second time the memorial has been damaged by vandals within a year’s time and the Division is willing to pay $1,000 to anyone who can bring forward information that will result in the conviction of the perpetrator(s) under local and state laws.
The memorial, a granite block with a bronze plaque, was erected in Asheville in 1926 by the United Daughters of the Confederacy “in loving memory of Robert E. Lee and to mark the route of the Dixie Highway.” Since 2015, increased attempts to dishonor and destroy symbols of North Carolina’s Confederate heritage have plagued our state. We feel compelled to do our part in ensuring that the laws of our state are observed and enforced despite the efforts of those, like the vandals of the memorial, who wish to see us descend into anarchy. Though many do not see the protection of public property as a high priority, failure to remedy its destruction and deter future such occurrences, erodes the delicate balance of law and order against utter chaos that exists in 2018 America.
If you have any information related to this crime, please contact us via our website, www.NCSCV.org.
R. Kevin Stone Commander
Intelligent people do not vandalize.