Protests break out at meeting about removing Lee statue in Charlottesville park

Tensions were high Tuesday morning at Lee Park as several protesters bearing Confederate imagery protested a news conference regarding a proposal to remove the statue of Gen. Robert E. Lee from the Charlottesville park.

Among the protesters’ jeers were accusations that those supporting the removal of the monument are “communists” and members of the “Taliban.”

The Charlottesville City Council agreed Monday evening to consider convening a Blue Ribbon Commission that will explore how the statues honoring Lee and Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, another Confederate luminary honored with a statue downtown, can be removed.