The statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee had a pride flag with the words “BLM” projected on it on Friday night by LGBTQ+ and Black Lives Matter activists in Richmond, Virginia.

The statue has been the location of many protests after the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed in police custody from an officer kneeling on his neck. Before the projection, it had been covered in spray paint and had “Black Lives Matter” and “stop white supremacy” written on it. 

AiRVA Drone has been tweeting photos and videos of the statue in order to show followers what was happening. On June 11, a tweet posted included photos of what the statue looked like and said, “Protestors making their voices heard! The grass turning yellow is a testament to all the people marching to end police brutality in recent weeks. #blacklivesmatter.”

Later on June 13, the account shared a video of the statue showing all the messages that protesters were writing. The tweet read, “All angles of messages from protestors covering the Robert E. Lee Monument! #Richmond #BlackLivesMatter.

Gov. Ralph Northam (D) revealed plans to remove the statue earlier this month and stated in a news conference that it is “wrong” to have a statue honoring the confederate general. However, his attempt was put on hold and met with a lawsuit by a county circuit judge.

The Robert E. Lee statue it the largest of several monuments that are located on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia. The statues honor Confederate soldiers and war heroes from the Civil War.

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