Fort Smith attorney Joey McCutchen filed a lawsuit against the city of Little Rock this week on behalf of Little Rock citizen James Clark concerning the removal of the Capital Guards Monument in 2021.
According to a press release the monument base was vandalized in 2020 and removed from its location in McArthur Park in May of 2021 which was a violation of the Arkansas Historical Monument Protection Act, According to McCutchen the suit also alleges violation of a settlement agreement between the city of Little Rock and the Arkansas Historical Preservation Program..
That agreement called for, among other things, the city of Little Rock was to seek the input of the Arkansas Historical Monument Protection Program to have the monument installed at an appropriate location within a time frame not to exceed past December 31, 2022 unless there was other mutually agreed in writing arrangements between the city of Little Rock and the AHMPP.
McCutcheon said that he has been working with the city in an attempt to obtain compliance with both the terms of the contract and with the Historical Monument Protection Act however, despite repeated attempts the city of Little Rock has not taken any action to reinstall the monument or comply with the contract or the AHMPA..
"The mayor and the city are not above the law", said McCutcheon. "It's past time that the city of Little Rock follow the Monument Protection Act and honor its agreement with the Arkansas Historical Preservation Program".
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