Hours after DeKalb County workers hoisted a massive Confederate monument off its base and removed it from the south side of the old DeKalb County Courthouse, state Judge Dax Lopez took a moment to walk outside and contemplate what he called "a view free of hate."

Lopez—who became the second Latino trial court judge in Georgia history when he was appointed to the bench in 2011—said the 30-foot-tall obelisk "is something I have walked by every day for 10 years at the courthouse."

"It felt so great to finally see it come down," he said. "It does not reflect us and our values."

(Photo: Ron Harris/AP)

Lopez witnessed the monument's removal on Facebook videos posted by a crowd that cheered workers who carried out a court order on June 18 to take down the obelisk. Later that day, Lopez turned to Facebook again to reflect on the significance of removing the monument with its paean to the "Lost Cause" myth of the defeated Confederacy.

Lopez, a Republican born in Puerto Rico, was once slated to become the first Latino judge to take the federal bench in Georgia. His father, a civil engineer, moved the family to Augusta when Lopez was 6 years old. But his 2015 nomination by President Barack Obama was derailed by Sen. David Perdue, R-Georgia, because of Lopez's membership in the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials. GALEO, a nonpartisan organization, promoted progressive stances on immigration that Perdue opposed.

Legislator: Tolerance of Monuments a 'Sin of Omission;

State Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, D-Decatur, whose law office is 100 yards from where the obelisk stood, shared Lopez's Facebook post on her own page, where she reflected on what she called her "past neglect of a symbol that has caused pain to many of my friends."