Plaque honoring Jefferson Davis removed at Kentucky Capitol

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – Officials in Kentucky have removed a plaque from a Jefferson Davis statue in the state Capitol declaring the only president of the Confederacy to be a “patriot, hero, statesman.”

Kentucky becomes the latest state to alter or remove Confederate monuments following multiple incidents of racially motivated violence. The Historic Properties Advisory Commission had voted last year to remove the plaque. But that decision was delayed so a lawyer from Republican Governor Matt Bevin’s administration could review state law to make sure the commission had the authority to remove the plaque.

The 15-foot (4.5 meter) marble statue of Jefferson Davis sits just behind a 14-foot bronze statue of Abraham Lincoln. Both men were born in Kentucky.

State officials decided in 2015 not to remove the statue from the Capitol.