A north Alabama grassroots organization is seeking to pressure Madison County officials to defy a new state law and remove a Civil War statue from the courthouse grounds in downtown Huntsville.

Under the bill signed into law last month by Gov. Kay Ivey, entities that remove historical statues or memorials without permission face a fine of $25,000.

So the Tennessee Valley Progressive Alliance is seeking to raise the money to cover the fine that would be incurred by the Madison County Commission for removing the statue.

"We read the fine print of the law and the law just says the state will fine localities up to $25,000 for removing monuments," said David Odom, organizer for the alliance. "And we said, 'Well, shoot, we ought to be able to put that together. Let's just see what happens - what do we have to lose?'

"We thought crowdfunding might be an option."

The group started a GoFundMe page to solicit donations and, as of Wednesday afternoon, had raised $450.

The office of Madison County Commission Chair Dale Strong said that he was not available for comment Thursday about the statue.

The Tennessee Valley Progressive Alliance, along with other organizations, had started a petition calling for the removal of the statue last month before Ivey enacted the new law. That petition, as of Wednesday afternoon, has 609 signatures.

The law went into effect immediately upon Ivey's signing. It blocks any local government from moving historical monuments on public property that have been in place for 40 years or more.

Government entities must receive a waiver to relocate a statue.

Odom said he believed government leaders could be convinced to break the law - particularly if the money is raised for the fine.

"With sufficient public pressure, any politician can be persuaded to do the right thing," he said. "We view it as our job to generate that public pressure. I think Huntsville is in a unique position to lead Alabama on this issue. Huntsville is kind of a melting pot and likes to think of itself as a progressive city. We've got two (Historically Black Universities), the federal government presence, all of that makes this symbol of white supremacy even more abhorrent when it's in the center of downtown Huntsville.

"We're optimistic in the long run. We think we can continue to build pressure around this issue and educate folks about what this means. The inscription on the monuments talks about the principles that gave birth to the confederate cause. Well, those principles were slavery and white supremacy. It's just a plain matter of right and wrong."

The group said that if enough money was not raised to cover the fine, the funds would be redirected to a public memorial for lynching victims in Madison County.

Updated June 8, 2017, at 11:37 a.m. with Madison County Commission Chair Dale Strong not available for comment Thursday.