Crews remove Jefferson Davis statue from Kentucky Capitol

FRANKFORT, Ky. (WDRB) -- After years of controversy, crews removed a statue of Jefferson Davis from the Kentucky Capitol on Saturday.

The statue honoring Davis, who was born in Fairview, Kentucky, and became president of the Confederate States of America, has been a fixture inside the Capitol rotunda since 1936.

The removal process was an all-day affair. Around 8:30 a.m., workers applied straps to the statue to remove it from its base. Donning a hardhat, Gov. Andy Beshear ceremoniously pressed the button to lift Davis away from the base, which revealed an old copy of the Frankfort State Journal newspaper and an empty bottle of Glenmore straight bourbon whiskey inside. It's unclear when the base will be moved from the rotunda.

Beshear's family watched from above, as spectators — both white and black — watched and waited outside. Supporters of the statue's removal were on hand for its departure, but no one in attendance protested its exit during the hours WDRB News was there.

Katima McMillan of Frankfort, Kentucky, said it's emotional seeing a statue of the Confederate president leave her hometown.

"I've been crying for the past week," she said. "The feeling is unexplainable. I cannot explain it as a person, as a human, let alone as a black woman."

The statue's departure comes after the state's Historic Properties Advisory Commission voted 11-1 to remove it. Beshear noted that the decision was bipartisan.

"That every child that walks into this Capitol feels welcome," Beshear said. "None of them have to look at a symbol and a statue that stands for the enslavement of their ancestors."

After hours of waiting, and crews maneuvering the statue through the Capitol hallways, it was finally pushed outside around 6 p.m., where a crane was waiting. The crane lifted the statue into the air and onto the bed of a tractor trailer.

"I'm only 15 years old, and this is so special to get to be a part of this," said Kadence Leigh. "We are living in such a time of hate, (but) there still is positivity and there still is love."

Although the statue is leaving Frankfort, it will remain in Kentucky. It will be taken to the state park honoring Davis at his birthplace in Fairview.

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