Charlottesville Robert E Lee statue to be melted down and turned into art

City council votes to donate statue at center of Unite the Right rally to African American heritage center

The statue of the Confederate general Robert E Lee that drew deadly protests to Charlottesville, Virginia, will be melted down and turned into a new piece of public art by an African American heritage center.

The city council decided how to dispose of the now removed statue at the center of the Unite the Right rally in 2017 during a meeting that stretched into Tuesday morning, the Daily Progress reported.