CLINTON, LA (WAFB) – A man awaiting trial in East Feliciana Parish is seeking a change of venue because of a Confederate Monument that is located near the entrance to the courthouse.

He says the presence of the monument would “prevent him from having a fair and impartial jury trial.”

Ronnie Anderson is charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.

In the lawsuit, Anderson alleges the monument could prevent him, an African American, from getting a fair trial.

“The Confederate Monument features a Confederate Soldier on a pedestal which was erected in 1909 and stands at least 30 feet in height,” the lawsuit says.

“Defendant believes that this Confederate Monument displayed prominently in front of the East Feliciana Parish Courthouse sends a message to African Americans of intimidation and oppression, communicating that justice may not be fair and impartial at a Courthouse that was nostalgic and sentimental over the institution of slavery that the Confederacy fought for in the American Civil War,” the lawsuit says.

You can read the full motion filed in the 20th Judicial District here.