Murray State University Assistant Football Coach Sherman Neal first called for the monument's removal in a June 1 open letter to county and Murray city leadership.
Benton Police Chief Stephen Sanderson said law enforcement asked a group of 2nd Amendment advocates, who had planned to attend the protest out of fears local businesses would get looted, to set up a couple blocks away from the protest. Those advocates were mostly out of view from the protest on the courthouse square.
A video posted to social media shows a man assaulting protesters with a chemical spray during an evening march on June 2 in Murray in a second day of protests in the city related to the recent killings of unarmed black people across the country.
The rally came amid days of protests following the deaths of Taylor on March 13 in Louisville, and George Floyd, a black man brutally killed by police outside of Minneapolis last week.
The flag drew coverage from national outlets and prompted a response from Kentucky’s branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People expressing opposition to the flag being raised.
