FORT MYERS, Fla.--The Fort Myers City Council adjourned its meeting Monday without taking any action on removing the statue of Robert E. Lee.
The statue is in downtown Fort Myers. It's on public land, but it's unclear if the city or county owns it. City officials are working to determine who owns the land. The statue was given to the city as a gift from the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
People for and against moving the statue spoke for more than an hour Monday.
"That monument of General Robert E. Lee and all the monuments across the Southland are under attack right now," said H.K. Edgerton, who heads a group called Save our Southern Heritage.
The effort to relocate the statue was initiated last month by Lee County NAACP Chair James Muwakkil.
"Robert E. Lee committed treason, and if he were alive today, he would be executed," Muwakkil told city council members.
Councilman Johnny Streets says it would likely take a coalition of city council members and county commissioners coming up with a compromise to move the statue.
