A monument to Confederate soldiers has been removed from a Southern California cemetery after being vandalized with red paint and the word "racists."
The Orange County Register reports the marker was removed Thursday from Santa Ana Cemetery.
Cemetery district officials say they couldn't find records to prove who owns the burial plots where the monument stood or that it was approved by the district's board.
The Orange County chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans erected the monument in 2004.
The district says it tried reaching out to the chapter after last month's vandalism to discuss altering the monument but didn't hear back.
Chapter leader Robert Williams disputes that there could be no records, noting there was a public ceremony when it was erected.
Williams calls the removal political correctness.
