"Robert E. Lee on Traveller" was later removed and sold at auction for $1.4 million, and the city earmarked the funds to cover the estimated $500,000 cost to remove the War Memorial; however, in June 2019, Return to Lee Park filed an emergency stay with the Fifth Court of Appeals of Texas to block its removal, arguing that the city had violated the Texas Open Meetings Act and the Texas Antiquities Act in its earlier actions.