Alabama AG vows to revive law protecting Confederate monuments after it's struck down by judge

The Alabama Attorney General's Office said on Tuesday that it would fight a judge's ban on a state law that aims to protect Confederate monuments.

In an order issued Monday before midnight on Monday, Jefferson County Circuit Judge Michael Graffeo ruled that the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act has no legal authority, according to AL.com. The law sought to prevent the removal of monuments that have been on public land for more than 40 years.

"Just as the state could not force any particular citizen to post a pro-Confederacy sign in his or her front lawn, so too can the state not commandeer the city's property for the state's preferred message," Graffeo wrote.

The state had argued that the city of Birmingham broke the law when it covered the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Linn Park with plywood. The state demanded that the covering be removed.

On Tuesday, the AG's office vowed to appeal the judge's order.

“The Attorney General’s Office stands by its original assessment that the Alabama Monument Preservation Act is constitutional," a statement from the AG's office said. "Therefore, we will be filing an appeal.”