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2 years after UT Austin removed Confederate statues, group takes case to appeals court

Members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, which is a nonprofit organization, are now making their case to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

AUSTIN, Texas — Two years after the University of Texas removed or relocated several confederate statues on campus, the battle of that decision is still ongoing.

Some of the statues that were removed in 2017 from the main mall of the campus included Robert E. Lee, Albert Sidney Johnston, John Reagan and James Stephen Hogg. However, more than a year after it was removed, Hogg's statue found a new home on campus.

Members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, which is a nonprofit organization, are now making their case to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. 

The group is arguing that leaders at the university should not have taken the statues down in 2017. A judge dismissed their case in 2018, but the group is still trying to get that decision overturned, according to our partners at the Austin American-Statesman

RELATED: UT removes remaining Confederate statues from South Mall

Kirk Lyons, who is an attorney is the case, told the Statesman "his clients do have standing because the removal of Confederate monuments injures their rights to free speech."

Attorney General Ken Paxton joined in the conversation, saying the court should dismiss the suit.

"Those arguing against the removal of Confederate monuments at the University of Texas, simply do not have the standing required to challenge the university's removal or relocation of monuments on campus." 

WATCH: UT removes all Confederate statues

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