Watch CBS News

UT has authority to remove controversial Confederate statue, judge rules

AUSTIN, Texas -- A judge has denied efforts to prevent the University of Texas from removing a statue of Confederate president Jefferson Davis from the main area of campus.

During a hearing Thursday, the Sons of Confederate Veterans called attempts to remove the Davis statue a "cultural atrocity." They compared doing so to Islamic State forces destroying Middle East artifacts.

Confederate flag comes down in South Carolina 02:11

But Judge Karin Crump ruled the university has the authority to move the statue.

Activists say the nearly century-old bronze likeness of Davis highlights the university's racist past. New school President Greg Fenves recently ordered it moved to a campus museum, but allowed other Confederate symbols to remain.

Calls for the removal of Confederate symbols swept the nation in June after a young white man who embraced the banner as a symbol of white power was charged with murdering nine black people inside their historic black church in South Carolina.

A Sons of Confederate Veterans attorney said the group hasn't decided whether it will appeal.

Officials plan to move Davis' statue within a few days.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.