BELTON, Texas — Editor's Note: 6 News was incorrectly told by Commissioner Minor that a vote of 4-1 was taken Monday. The previous version of this article has been corrected.
Bell County Commissioners did not vote Monday morning on an agenda item that called for the destruction of a Confederate statue outside of the Bell County Courthouse. The motion did not receive a second, and the vote was pushed to a later date.
Louie Minor was recently sworn in as the Bell County Commissioner of Precinct 4 and says destroying or moving this statue is at the top of his priorities which is why he put the issue to destroy it on Monday's agenda.
"The debate has been years in the making as well," Miner said leading up to the vote. "I think the only difference is now that you know, I'm on the commissioner's court, and it's a priority for me to take action on the statue."
Minor says he still hears 70- and 80-year-old people who walk by that statue and think about what it represents. Minor says the statue represents oppression and a dark past in American history that he says we need to move on from.
Supporters of the statue and those who want it gone both packed into the Commissioner's Court meeting Monday morning. A supporter told the court, "If we keep the statue up, Bell County is racist." Another woman told the court that keeping the statue would allow it to be a teaching tool and that if it was taken down "we aren't remembering history."
One anonymous veteran spoke to 6 News prior to Monday's vote saying, "you should take it down. It should've been taken down years ago. Should never have been there. It should go along with all the others."
Others in favor of the statue shouted at a 6 News crew taking video of that statue in support of the statue. One yelling, "the statue is here to stay."
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