If someone broke into the African American history museum and melted down their history, the city would lock them up. If the city tears down a monument that belongs to everyone and gives it to the African American history museum to melt down, not even a misdemeanor.

Here was the statement by Governor Ralph Northam when he had the monument removed "After 133 years, the statue of Robert E. Lee has finally come down—the last Confederate statue on Monument Avenue, and the largest in the South. The public monuments reflect the story we choose to tell about who we are as a people. It is time to display history as history, and use the public memorials to honor the full and inclusive truth of who we are today and in the future.”

So apparently "displaying history as history" means melting it down. Keep in mind that this was the largest confederate monument in the South. Not just a random statue.