Confederate statues taken down in Baltimore in the dead of night

Confederate statues in Baltimore have been removed days after the white supremacist protests in Charlottesville.

Journalists in the Maryland city tweeted from the scene as the statues were taken down from public places in the dead of night.

The City Council voted days ago to remove the statues.

The memorials include the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument on Mount Royal Avenue, the Confederate Women’s Monument on West University Parkway, the Roger B Taney Monument on Mount Vernon Place, and the Robert E Lee and Thomas J “Stonewall” Jackson Monument in the Wyman Park Dell.

Removal of the statues follows the unrest in Charlottesville when neo-Nazis and white nationalists marched over plans to taken down the monument to Robert E Lee, who commanded the Confederate army of northern Virginia.

The Baltimore City Council voted unanimously Monday to remove four Confederate monuments immediately.

They had all come down early on Wednesday morning.

Small crowds gathered at the momuments as they were removed.

Baynard Woods, the editor of the Baltimore City Paper, said the mood was "celebratory".

“The police are being cheerful and encouraging people to take photos and selfies,” Mr. Woods said.

Other cities and states are considering removing their Confederate monuments following the clashes at Saturday's rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.

According to the New York Times, one city councilman said the statues should be destroyed, not just moved.

“These people were terrorists. They were traitors. Why are we honoring them?” Councilman Brandon M. Scott said at a meeting on Monday.

Charlottesville far-right protest