SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A Hispanic heritage group in Santa Fe is suing the mayor over the destruction of a U.S. veterans memorial by activists during a demonstration on Indigenous People’s Day. The lawsuit seeks to block Mayor Alan Webber’s plans to have the monument permanently removed and replaced with a more culturally inclusive one. The 33-foot stone obelisk honored Union soldiers who died fighting Indigenous and Confederate enemies in the 1860s. Its remnants lie at the center of the city’s historic plaza, encased in a plywood box. The lawsuit argues that the marker is covered by state law protecting historic places and must be restored.
