The North Carolina Court of Appeals on Friday ordered the city of Asheville and Buncombe County to halt the demolition of a Confederate monument while an appeal plays out.
The city has already removed the 75-foot tall obelisk honoring Confederate colonel and Gov. Zebulon Vance from its base downtown but was still dismantling remaining portions.
The court's order specifies that the city and county must stop “any further action to deconstruct, demolish or remove the Zebulon Baird Vance Monument” pending an appeal filed by the Society for the Historical Preservation of the 26th North Carolina Troops, WLOS-TV reported.
Asheville and Buncombe County also must keep all the parts of the monument already taken down, the order said.
The monument is one of many Confederate statues and memorials that have been removed across the South in the past year amid protests for racial justice.