The Alabama Supreme Court directed a judge to fine Birmingham $25,000 for putting plywood up around a confederate monument, ruling the city in violation of the 2017 Alabama Memorial Preservation Act.

“This ruling appears to be less about the rule of law and more about politics,” city spokesman Rick Journey said, per ABC News. “We are carefully reviewing the opinion to determine our next step, but clearly the citizens of Birmingham should have the final decision about what happens with monuments on Birmingham city grounds.”

Municipal officers erected a plywood box to obscure a 52-foot monument inscribed with the names of Confederate soldiers. With the decision, the Supreme Court has overturned a circuit judge’s ruling that the Memorial Preservation Act violates freedom of speech protections.