2 arrested, protested Confederate bust at Tennessee Capitol

Source: Associated Press


By KIMBERLEE KRUESI
33 minutes ago

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Two African-American activists were arrested Thursday, the final day of Black History Month, while demanding lawmakers remove a bust from the state Capitol of Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, an early Ku Klux Klan leader.

The protest followed a tense news conference with visibly agitated GOP House leaders, who threatened to walk out on reporters who questioned them about the recent appointment of a lawmaker accused of sexual misconduct to head an education committee.

Together, the separate events have escalated tensions within the GOP-dominant Statehouse, amid numerous demonstrations.

House leaders have remained steadfast in support of Rep. David Byrd, who faces accusations from three women who say he acted inappropriately with them while they were students and he was their high school basketball coach three decades ago. Byrd has said conduct that long ago is difficult, at best, to recall. And he was later recorded apologizing to one of accusers though he never said why he did so.

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