LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The John B. Castleman monument in Cherokee Triangle has been vandalized again, not long after members of Louisville's Landmark Commission approved an appeal allowing the statue to be removed.
The John B. Castleman statue, located in the Highlands, has been the center of controversy because its critics argue that it is closely associated with the Confederacy and white supremacy.
In a 5-4 vote Thursday morning, the commission voted to allow the city to move the statue. That decision came after a heated public hearing and debate.
In January, a tie vote by the Cherokee Triangle Review Commission meant that the statue could not be removed. The city appealed that decision to the Landmarks Commission, which sided with the city Thursday morning.
Pictures taken early Friday morning show what appears to be gray paint or another substance covering one side of the statue, which has been vandalized several times, most recently in November 2018.
The city paid more than $8,000 to have the statue cleaned after an incident in 2017.
Castleman was an officer in the Confederate Army, but later served as an officer in the Union. The statue depicts him wearing civilian clothing. Castleman helped create the Olmsted Parks Conservancy in Louisville as well as Cherokee Park.
The statue was erected in 1913.
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