Commissioners vote to relocate Tampa Confederate statue

Hillsborough County Commissioners voted in favor of relocating the Confederate statue that has sat outside the old Tampa courthouse for more than 100 years, according to Bradenton Herald news partner Bay News 9.

This comes about one month after officials had voted to keep the statue where it is.

On Wednesday, commissioners listened to two and a half hours of public comment before the 4-2 vote, according to Bay News 9. The statue will be given back to the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Bay News 9 reported.

“So ladies and gentleman, this is not about trying to change history,” said Commissioner Les Miller, before making the motion to relocate the statue. “You never will change history. History will be there forever.”

One person in the audience held up a cardboard sign reading, “Snowflakes suck!”

After the votes were read, several audience members began clapping.

According to Bay News 9, a local attorney offered to start a GoFundMe site to help pay for the statue’s removal.

This story was originally published July 19, 2017 at 2:53 PM with the headline "Commissioners vote to relocate Tampa Confederate statue."