Workers began removing Confederate statues in Richmond after the mayor of the US city, the former capital of the pro-slavery Civil War South, ordered them taken down.
Mayor Levar Stoney was using his emergency powers to order the "the immediate removal of multiple monuments in the city, including Confederate statues," his office said in a statement.
The mayor's office said removing the statues "will expedite the healing process for the city, a former capital of the Confederacy constantly grappling with that legacy."
"Failing to remove the statues presents a severe, immediate and growing threat to public safety," it added.
A statue of Confederate States President Jefferson Davis lies on the street after protesters pulled it down in Richmond, Virginia. Source: AFP
"As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to surge, and protesters attempt to take down Confederate statues themselves, or confront others who are doing so, the risk grows for serious illness, injury, or death," the mayor said. "We have an urgent need to protect the public."
Work crews could be seen in televised footage beginning the removal of a statue of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, a Confederate general, on the Virginia city's Monument Avenue.
The removal of Confederate statues and monuments has been a persistent demand during recent protests for racial justice in the United States.
Many monuments have come under attack, and some have been pulled down, in the past month as protesters against police abuse of African Americans target symbols of the country's legacy of slavery.
President Donald Trump has opposed their removal and the Department of Homeland Security announced a special new task force on Wednesday to protect historic monuments across the country.
