New Orleans removes Confederate monument under cover of darkness
New Orleans has removed the first of four prominent Confederate monuments under the cover of darkness.
It makes the city the latest Southern institution to sever itself from symbols viewed by many as a representation of racism and white supremacy.
The Liberty Place monument, which commemorates whites who tried to topple a biracial post-Civil War government in New Orleans, was taken away on a truck in pieces around 5:35 am.
The removal happened early in the morning in an attempt to avoid disruption from supporters who want the monuments to stay - some of whom city officials said have even made death threats.
Workers removing the momument could be seen wearing bulletproof vests, military-style helmets and scarves that obscured their faces.
Police were also on hand, including officers who watched the area from atop the parking garage of a nearby hotel.
New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu vowed that "we will no longer allow the Confederacy to literally be put on a pedestal in the heart of our city."
"The statue was put up to honour the killing of police officers by white supremacists," Landrieu said at Monday's news conference.
"Of the four that we will move, this statue is perhaps the most blatant affront to the values that make America and New Orleans strong today."
Three other statues to Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and P.G.T. Beauregard and Confederate States of America President Jefferson Davis will be removed in later days now that legal challenges have been overcome.
The mayor would not say when that will happen for safety reasons, since "intimidation and threats from people who don't want these monuments down have been intense".
People who want the Confederate memorials removed say they are offensive artifacts honoring the region's slave-owning past.
But others call the monuments part of the city's history and say they should be protected historic structures.
Robert Bonner, 63, who said he is a Civil War re-enactor, was there to protest the statue's removal.
"I think it's a terrible thing," he said. "When you start removing the history of the city, you start losing money. You start losing where you came from and where you've been."
Landrieu said the memorials don't represent his city as it approaches its 300th anniversary next year.
The mayor said the city would remove the monuments, store them and preserve them until an "appropriate" place to display them is determined.