Trial date for New Orleans man accused of stealing Confederate monument in Selma in 2023

Montgomery Advertiser

A photograph purporting to be the chair stolen from Confederate Circle in a Selma Cemetery shows a hole in the center of the seat.

A Dallas County judge has set a trial date for a man accused of theft for stealing a Confederate monument and holding it for ransom in New Orleans last year.

Dallas County Circuit Judge Collins Pettaway Jr. scheduled the trial date for Jason Warnick, 33, for Feb. 6, 2023. A pre-trial conference will be held virtually on Jan.17 at 10 a.m.

Warnick, a tattoo artist from New Orleans, is charged with theft and receiving stolen property for the disappearance of a stone chair monument from Confederate Circle in Selma’s Old Live Oak Cemetery in May 2021. Pettaway refused to dismiss charges against Warnick last month.

Previous coverage:Two charged with possession of stolen Selma Confederate monument, another suspect sought

The group "White Lies Matter" claimed a stolen Confederate monument had been damaged when in actuality they'd created a fake chair from wood and foam.

Before being returned, the chair, presented by the Ladies of Selma in memory of Confederate President Jefferson Davis in 1893, was used as ransom by a group called “White Lies Matter.” The group demanded the Daughters of the Confederacy hang a banner from its Virginia headquarters featuring a quote from Assata Shakur, a former member of the Black Liberation Army, or else the chair would be damaged.

Two days later, the group said it had damaged the chair prematurely. Pressed about the validity of photographs it had sent as proof, the group admitted to faking the damage to the chair. Authorities say they discovered the real monument in Warnick’s tattoo parlor in New Orleans before it was returned and glued back to its base in the cemetery.

Evan Mealins is the justice reporter for the Montgomery Advertiser. Contact him at emealins@gannett.com.