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New Orleans set to remove Robert E. Lee statue

NEW ORLEANS — The fourth and final Confederate-era monument is set to be removed by the city of New Orleans on Friday morning, the Times-Picayune reported.

Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's statue at Lee Circle was erected in 1884.

Streets near the monument were blocked off in preparation for the dismantling, which is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m., CNN reported.

In a news release, city officials said demonstrators will have a right to "peaceful protest" and that "out of an abundance of caution," the city will be taking "extraordinary security measures" to maintain order and protect the workers removing the monument, the Times-Picayune reported.

The city started removing the landmarks in late April after the New Orleans City Council voted in 2015 to remove the four Confederate markers, CNN reported. Recent court rulings cleared the way for the monuments to be removed and relocated after spirited public debate.

Workers took down a Confederate monument to Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard early Wednesday. Last week, the city removed a 6-foot statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis from its pedestal.

An obelisk dedicated to the Battle of Liberty Place, which commemorated whites who tried to topple a biracial post-Civil War government, was dismantled on April 24, the New York Times reported.

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu will speak Friday afternoon about the city's efforts to remove the four Confederate monuments, the Times-Picayune reported.

The statues will be put in storage while the city looks for a suitable place to display them, CNN reported.