The police chief of Portsmouth, Virginia, was fired Monday in what she suggested was a politically motivated move moments before criminal charges were dropped against a prominent state senator and several local Black leaders accused of conspiring to damage a Confederate statue during a protest this year.
The latest twist in the case involving state Sen. Louise Lucas, a high-ranking Democrat and Virginia's most senior Black legislator, drew praise from Democrats who condemned the charges against her and the others.
Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe tweeted: "Our hero Louise Lucas and her fellow proud Portsmouth citizens deserve our admiration. Grateful this despicable political persecution is over."
Lucas' office could not immediately be reached for comment, but according to The Virginian-Pilot, she said the dismissal of the case "gives people hope" that "when they come to these courtrooms that they will be treated in a fair and just manner, even though you may have a rogue police department who intends to criminalize the justice system against people like me."
The Portsmouth Police Department did not immediately return a request for comment and a city spokeswoman declined to say if the firing of Police Chief Angela Greene was a result of the initial charges.
Portsmouth police in August charged Lucas and 18 other plaintiffs, including a school board member and members of the local NAACP chapter and the public defender's office, with conspiracy to commit a felony and injury to a monument in excess of $1,000.
The June 10 protest in Portsmouth, a majority-Black city across from Norfolk, came in the wake of national demonstrations against racial injustice calling for the removal of Confederate monuments and other divisive historic figures from public spaces. The police killing in May of George Floyd, a Black man in Minneapolis, focused renewed attention over such symbols.
At the Portsmouth protest, demonstrators managed to rip off the heads of some of the city's Confederate statues while toppling another statue, which police said fell on and critically injured a demonstrator.
When Greene, who is Black, later announced the charges, she said Lucas and others "conspired and organized to destroy the monument as well as summon hundreds of people to join in felonious acts."
Lucas specifically was with a group of people who were shaking cans of spray paint and she told police that they were going to vandalize the statues "and you can't stop them … they got a right, go ahead!," according to the police's version of events in a probable cause summary.
But a dismissal motion filed by the Portsmouth Commonwealth Attorney's Office found that there was "no proper evidence" to support the charges that the plaintiffs' actions "rise to the level of felony destruction of property or conspiracy." Video from the scene and other digital evidence was also unreliable, according to the motion.
In dismissing the charges Monday, a judge also questioned why police went around local prosecutors to bring charges against the plaintiffs.
City leaders had initially questioned Greene's involvement in investigating the Confederate protest because of an unspecified conflict of interest. Local activists and clergy leaders called for her resignation or firing.
In September, Greene, who became Portsmouth police chief in 2019, took an indefinite leave of absence from her post. Rallies were also held in support of Greene.
On Monday morning, she held up a copy of her termination letter during a news conference.
"I believe I was wrongfully terminated for upholding the law and being retaliated against for sticking to my sworn oath that I swore to serve and protect my citizens, community and keeping my officers safe," she said.
Greene said city leaders did not provide a reason for her firing, other than she was an "at-will employee." She added that she planned to sue the city, and that law enforcement should be "able to protect the community and enforce the law without interference from political leaders."
City spokeswoman Dana Woodson confirmed in an email to NBC News that Greene had been fired, but declined to provide further comment, saying it was a "confidential, personnel matter."
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Virginia police chief fired as felony charges dropped in Confederate vandalism case - NBC News
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