Richmond, Va. (Newsradiowrva.com) - The United Daughters of the Confederacy hopes a lawsuit it has filed in Richmond Circuit Court will lead to the identification of rioters who vandalized and firebombed the organization's headquarters on Arthur Ashe Boulevard during the 2020 George Floyd riots.
UDC President General Julie Hardaway says members of the heritage and educational society have waited in vain for five years for city police to hold anyone accountable for the destruction.
"Makes me wonder how hard they investigated because I'm turning up a lot of really good pictures," Hardaway told Newsradio WRVA News Director Charles Pyle. "I mean, we have video footage from our own building."
Hardaway says the May 31, 2020, attack on the UDC headquarters resulted in more than $4.1 million in damage to the building and its contents, including the destruction of irreplaceable Civil War artifacts.
"One of the big things that we lost was Stonewall Jackson's regimental flag. Insurance paid us $60,000 for that," Hardaway said.
The suit seeks $1.8 million in compensatory and punitive damages from unknown defendants. Hardaway says the lawsuit could enable the UDC to exercise subpoena power to identify the vandals.
"I'm getting really good videos and photos sent to me and we would like to determine the perpetrators' identities," she said.
Hardaway added that the lack of action in the case by law enforcement suggests a two-tiered justice system that leaves politically unfavored organizations open to violence.
"I can't sit here and do nothing and go down in history as the UDC got beat up and ... burned out and ... did nothing in return," she said. "Our women have always been fighters."