Charlottesville mayor calls for removal of Lee statue

Signer also brought up the issue of carrying weapons during protests

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer announced Friday that he supports removing Charlottesville's Confederate statues.

"And so for the sake of public safety, public reassurance, to magnify Heather’s voice, and to repudiate the pure evil that visited us here, I am calling today for the removal of these Confederate statues from downtown Charlottesville," Signer said in a statement issued Friday.

Signer said that he previously supported a plan that would "'transform in place' the Lee statue by creating a new context around it."

Signer also brought up the issue of carrying weapons during protests in his statement.

"And so I am going to work with my colleagues on City Council to demand that our General Assembly swiftly enact legislation allowing localities to ban the open or concealed carry of weapons in public events reasonably deemed to pose a potential security threat," Signer said, adding, "I believe that we must act to consecrate the memory of Heather Heyer," although he did not provide any specifics.

Click here to read the mayor's full statement.