Workers in Charlottesville draped giant black tarps over two statues of Confederate generals on Wednesday to symbolize the city’s mourning for Heather Heyer, the 32-year-old paralegal who was killed while protesting a white nationalist rally.

The work began around 1 p.m. in Emancipation Park, where a towering monument of Robert E. Lee on horseback stands. Workers gathered around the monument with a large black covering. Some stood in cherry-pickers and others used ropes and poles to cover the statue as onlookers took photos and video.

Some of the crowd cheered as the cover was put in place.

The statue of Confederate Stonewall Jackson also was covered in Justice Park.

The Charlottesville City Council voted to shroud the statues early Tuesday, at the end of a hours-long meeting packed with irate residents who screamed and cursed at council members over the city’s response to the Aug. 12 rally. The event, dubbed “Unite the Right,” is believed to be the largest gathering of white nationalists in a decade.

Neo-Nazis, Ku Klux Klan members, skinheads and members of various white nationalist factions clashed violently with counterprotesters in the street adjacent to Emancipation Park. The fighting went on largely uninterrupted by authorities until the event was declared an unlawful assembly and the crowd was forced to disperse.

Later, a car rammed into a crowd of demonstrators who were marching through downtown, killing Ms. Heyer and injuring more than two dozen others. The man who police say was driving, James Alex Fields Jr., 20, of Maumee, Ohio, has been charged with second degree murder in her death.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe said last week that the Confederate statues have become “flashpoints for hatred, division and violence,” and he called on localities and the General Assembly to relocate Confederate monuments to museums and other appropriate places.

The governor also issued an executive order on Aug. 18 halting any permits for demonstrations at the Lee statue on Richmond’s Monument Avenue until the state Department of General Services can put in place new emergency regulations.

He said several groups had requested permits for rallies at the Lee statue in the aftermath of the Charlottesville tragedy, but “state and local officials need to get ahead of this problem so that we have the proper legal protections in place to allow for peaceful demonstrations.”

In Norfolk, Mayor Kenny Alexander supports moving Norfolk’s Confederate monument out of downtown, possibly to city-owned Elmwood Cemetery. His comments on Aug. 16 came just hours before a protest where hundreds of people called for the monument to be removed.

Mayor Alexander, who is Norfolk’s first African-American mayor, noted that Norfolk natives fought to preserve the Union during the Civil War, including Sgt. William Carney of the 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry, who was the first African-American recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism in the Battle of Fort Wagner in South Carolina.

In Portsmouth, Mayor John Rowe called for the city to move its Confederate monument from Olde Towne to Cedar Grove Cemetery, which has a large section of graves belonging to rebel leaders and soldiers.

“This is the perfect place for it,” Mayor Rowe said at an Aug. 17 news conference in the cemetery. “People understand that it’s a memorial to the dead. Putting it in a cemetery is appropriate.”

Elsewhere around the country, similar actions are underway or under consideration:

Washington — U.S. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey plans to introduce a bill to remove Confederate statues from the U.S. Capitol. At least 12 Confederate statues stand in the National Statuary Hall in the Capitol. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California called for the statues’ removal, describing them as “reprehensible.”

Austin, Texas — The University of Texas removed four Confederate statues from its Austin campus early Monday, Aug. 21, in the wake of the violence in Charlottesville. University President Gregory L. Fenves announced the decision late Sunday night, saying the “horrific displays of hatred” in Virginia had made it clear that Confederate statues had become “symbols of modern white supremacy and neo-Nazism.”

Dallas — Six Flags Over Texas theme park has removed the Confederate flag from its marquee and is replacing all six flags currently waving over the entrances with American flags.

Durham, N.C. — Duke University President Vincent E. Price authorized the removal of the statue of Robert E. Lee from the entrance to Duke Chapel on Aug. 19. The decision came shortly after the statue was vandalized.

Los Angeles — A once-obscure Confederate monument in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery was taken down Aug. 15 after the cemetery’s owners fielded numerous requests for its removal.

Annapolis, Md. — A statue of Roger Taney, the chief author of the 1857 Dred Scott decision, which ruled that African-Americans, both enslaved and free, could not be American citizens, was taken down from its post in front of the State House about 2 a.m. Aug. 18.

Baltimore — Mayor Catherine Pugh ordered the removal of four monuments to the era of the Confederacy, saying it was in the interest of public safety after the violence in Charlottesville. The statues were taken down before dawn on Aug. 16.

Brooklyn, N.Y. — A plaque honoring a tree planted in Brooklyn in the 1840s by Robert E. Lee was removed on Aug. 16. The tree is next to a closed Episcopal church, and diocesan officials said they received multiple threats after the plaque was taken down.

Gainesville, Fla. — A local chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy paid for the Aug. 14 removal of a monument to Confederate soldiers that stood in front of the Alachua County Administration Building in downtown Gainesville for 113 years. The monument, known locally as “Old Joe,” was moved to a private cemetery outside the city.

Boston — A Confederate monument on Georges Island in Boston Harbor has been covered as the state decides what to do about it. In June, Gov. Charlie Baker said that the state “should refrain from the display of symbols, especially in our public parks, that do not support liberty and equality.”

Kansas City, Mo. — A memorial to Confederate women, a 1934 gift by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, was defaced by graffiti on Aug. 18 and boxed up two days later in preparation for its removal.

Jacksonville, Fla. — Anna Lopez Brosche, president of the Jacksonville City Council, called for all Confederate monuments to be moved from city property to a museum.

Lexington, Ky. — Lexington City Council approved on Aug. 17 a plan to remove two Confederate statues from the city’s historic courthouse. Mayor Jim Gray has 30 days to propose a new location for the statues, whose removal must be approved by the Kentucky Military Heritage Commission.

Memphis, Tenn. — The City of Memphis is seeking to remove a statue of Confederate Nathan Bedford Forrest from a city park, but needs approval by the Tennessee Historical Commission.

Bronx, N.Y. — Bronx Community College President Thomas A. Isekenegbe said the school would remove the busts of Stonewall Jackson and Robert E. Lee from its Hall of Fame for Great Americans.

San Diego — A plaque honoring Confederate president Jefferson Davis was removed from Horton Plaza Park on Aug. 16. “Monuments to bigotry have no place in San Diego or anywhere,” City Councilor Christopher Ward wrote on Twitter.