CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) – Two men have been convicted of removing multiple times the tarps that covered Confederate statues to mourn the counterprotester killed during last August’s violent white nationalist rally in Virginia.
The Daily Progress reports Brian Roland Lambert and Christopher James Wayne were sentenced to eight months and five months, respectively, on trespassing and vandalism charges related to removing tarps from Charlottesville’s statues of Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson.
The tarps were torn down several times until a judge ordered their removal.
On Monday, Judge Joseph Sirks said he assigned jail time for misdemeanor charges to emphasize the importance of following the legal process.
Lambert said he’d appeal, but also said they would take their punishment “like men.” During the appeals process, the men wouldn’t have to report to jail.
