An Opelousas man has been arrested in connection with a recent attempt to topple the St. Landry Parish confederate monument.
In recent years, the parish council has discussed removing the monument from the courthouse square, but so far it has remained in place. It was scheduled to be moved sometime in January.
According to a release, Don Leger, 66, turned himself in and was arrested on a warrant.
Security cameras at the courthouse caught someone using a pick-up truck with a rope attached to try to pull down the statue. The cameras later caught the person returning to the area, and vandalizing the statue with black paint.
After an anonymous tip, Leger was identified as suspect by Opelousas Police. He was booked on a charge of felony criminal damage to property after turning himself in. He's already been released from the parish jail after posting $2,500 bond, records show.
Although the monument was previously owned by St. Landry Parish Government, the St. Landry Council has since donated it, by resolution, to a separate organization. The monument is set to be moved very soon to its new location at Camp Moore Confederate Cemetery and Museum near Kentwood. That's the same location to which Lafayette's confederate statute was relocated.
