Rob Walker, Susan Hathaway and the Virginia Flaggers Remain Silent

There are still no updates to the story of a VCU student who supposedly prevented two white males from vandalizing the Jefferson Davis monument in Richmond on Thursday evening.  The Richmond-Times Dispatch has been contacted and is looking into this story as has the Richmond Police for further information.  The story was made public by Susan Hathaway of the Virginia Flaggers.  The student in question is Rob Walker Jr.  Some of you may remember that Mr. Walker left a few comments on my blog a few weeks ago in response to the posting of one of his Flagger videos.

I want the conversation to be about the content of his [Tripp Lewis] argument…. Like I said, I am unbiased. I am not for or against the Confederate flag. I simply wish to conduct an investigation into the issue.

Mr. Walker apparently hopes to be thought of as an objective documentarian of Flagger activities.  This can no longer be assumed given the fact that so many questions remain unanswered.  I emailed Walker last night, but have still not received a response.  Here is the email:

First, I wanted to express my thanks for your actions that led to the arrest of the two individuals who intended to vandalize the Jefferson Davis Monument in Richmond.  I expressed my appreciation on my blog, but I wanted to give you the opportunity to confirm and/or add to the story that has been cited on a few websites.  As I stated on the blog I am surprised that we haven’t heard more from local media given the details of this story.  I used Monument Avenue to teach a class on the Civil War and historical memory for a number of years during my time as a history teacher in central Virginia.  These monuments are very important to me and to many other people albeit for different reasons.  Thanks again for taking a stand.

At this point it is reasonable to expect a confirmation from Mr. Walker that the content of the story as reported by Susan Hathaway is truthful.  It is also reasonable to inquire whether Hathaway herself still stands by this story.  A simple update to one of the sites in which the story appears will suffice. It is very likely that both Hathaway and Walker are aware that questions have been raised.

I still hope that the story is true and if it can be confirmed I will be the first to post a formal congratulatory note on this blog for Mr. Walker.  Even if it is, Brooks Simpson has pointed out potential problems for Mr. Walker revolving around his use of a taser to subdue the two vandals.  Let me be clear – assuming the story is true – while I am grateful for his actions in protecting the Davis monument I do not condone the use of tasers in such a situation.  At this point it is in Mr. Walker’s interest, as a student at a school with very strict rules on the concealment of weapons, to set the record straight if there is anything in this story that is not true.

Again, if any of you in the Richmond area have heard anything about this story on the local news please let us know in the comments section.

Civil War Memory has moved to Substack! Don’t miss a single post. Subscribe below.

1 comment… add one

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *