WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - A North Carolina judge has rejected an emergency plea to delay removal of a Confederate statue.

The Winston-Salem Journal reports the United Daughters of the Confederacy made the request Thursday to halt removal of the statue from downtown Winston-Salem. The UDC had until Thursday to have the Confederate statue moved or face city action to remove it.

City Manager Lee Garrity, relaying information from city attorney Angela Carmon, said a Forsyth County judge turned down the UDC’s effort to halt the city’s effort to have the statue removed.

In a letter Wednesday to the lawyer for the UDC, Carmon said the presence of the statue in its current location jeopardizes its preservation and is harmful to public safety. The statue has been vandalized twice in less than 18 months.

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Information from: Winston-Salem Journal, http://www.journalnow.com