The statue of a Confederate general that was torn down during Black Lives Matter protests in June 2020 has been reinstalled in Washington, D.C.’s Judiciary Square. The Albert Pike statue now sits back on its pedestal surrounded by fencing.
The National Park Service announced in August that it would reinstall the statue to align with two executive orders signed by President Trump. Significant work was done to restore it.
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Opposing views of Albert Pike statue
The Park Service said the statue honors Pike’s leadership in Freemasonry. It made no mention of his time in the Confederate Army and his work to stop Black men and women from gaining the right to vote.
“The restoration aligns with federal responsibilities under historic preservation law,” the NPS said in a statement.
D.C. lawmakers have been trying to remove the statue since at least the 1990s. D.C.’s non-voting member of Congress called it “morally objectionable” and said it’s an affront to the city’s Black and brown residents.
“Pike himself served dishonorably. He took up arms against the United States, misappropriated funds, and was ultimately captured and imprisoned by his own troops,” Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., said. “He resigned in disgrace after committing a war crime and dishonoring even his own Confederate military service.”
Norton introduced a bill in 2020 to permanently remove the statue and donate it to a museum. It was not signed into law.
Changes between administrations
The Trump administration has taken multiple steps to reinstall statues that the Biden administration removed in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests. That includes the “Reconciliation Monument”, a statue in Arlington National Cemetery honoring Confederate Soldiers.
“Unlike the Left, we don’t believe in erasing American history – we honor it,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X after announcing a Confederate statue would be reinstalled in Arlington.
The “Reconciliation Monument” is expected to return to the national cemetery in 2027 following a $10 million refurbishment.
