The Latest: Conflicting accounts over Confederate plaque

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Latest on calls to remove a Confederate marker at the Texas Capitol that rejects slavery as an underlying cause of the Civil War (all times local):

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6:15 p.m.

The office of Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is pushing back on whether he endorsed the removal of a Confederate marker at the state Capitol during a private meeting with a black lawmaker.

Abbott spokeswoman Ciara Matthews says the governor pledged to Democratic state Rep. Eric Johnson that state officials would look into a plaque that rejects slavery as an underlying cause of the Civil War. But she says the governor didn’t agree to remove it.

Johnson told The Associated Press that he concedes Abbott didn’t explicitly say the plaque would be taken down. But he says the governor agreed it was historically inaccurate and indicated that he supported its removal.

Johnson called Abbott’s characterization of the meeting “mind-boggling” and says he might release meeting notes taken by his staff.

Johnson has for months called for its removal as Confederate markers come down nationwide.

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4:30 p.m.

A black Texas lawmaker says Republican Gov. Greg Abbott privately told him that he supports removing a Confederate marker inside the State Capitol that rejects slavery as an underlying cause of the Civil War.

An Abbott spokeswoman Friday stopped short of saying the plaque would come down and did not say if the plaque is appropriate. Ciara Matthews says the governor will ask state officials to look into the issue.

But Democratic state Rep. Eric Johnson says Abbott seemed to agree a 1959 plaque titled “Children of the Confederacy Creed” was historically indefensible. He says Abbott didn’t try defending the plaque during a meeting in Dallas.

Johnson has for months called for its removal as Confederate markers come down nationwide.

Abbott has said previously that removing monuments won’t erase history.