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PULSE POINTS
❓WHAT HAPPENED: The statue of Confederate general Albert Pike in Washington, D.C., was restored to its location after being vandalized and toppled during the 2020 Black Lives Matter riots.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The National Park Service facilitated the return of the statue, which honors Confederate diplomat and Brig. Gen. Albert Pike.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The statue was returned to Judiciary Square in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, after being in storage for over five years.
💬KEY QUOTE: “It is the policy of the United States to make the District of Columbia safe, beautiful, and prosperous by preventing crime, punishing criminals, preserving order, protecting our revered American monuments, and promoting beautification and the preservation of our history and heritage.” — President Donald J. Trump
🎯IMPACT: The return of the statue aligns with federal efforts to preserve historical monuments and educate the public on American history.
IN FULL
The bronze statue of the Confederate diplomat and military commander Brig. Gen. Albert Pike has been restored to its original location in Washington, D.C., at Judiciary Square. For over five years, the 11-foot-tall bronze statue sat in storage after it was repeatedly vandalized—and eventually toppled—during the Black Lives Matter (BLM) riots in the summer of 2020.
Originally dedicated in 1901, after being authorized by Congress in 1898, the statue commemorates Pike’s more than 30 years as the Sovereign Grand Commander of the Ancient and Accepted Rite of Scottish Freemasonry. The monument inscriptions highlight Pike’s roles as an orator, poet, scholar, soldier, jurist, and philanthropist, without directly referencing his Confederate ties.
Efforts to remove the statue date back to at least 1992, when the D.C. City Council petitioned the federal government for its removal. However, its recent return follows two Executive Orders from President Donald J. Trump in March, which directed federal agencies to “protect public monuments and present a full and accurate picture of the American past,” according to the National Park Service.
“As the Federal capital city, Washington, D.C., is the only city that belongs to all Americans and that all Americans can claim as theirs. As the capital city of the greatest Nation in the history of the world, it should showcase beautiful, clean, and safe public spaces,” Trump ordered in March, adding: “It is the policy of the United States to make the District of Columbia safe, beautiful, and prosperous by preventing crime, punishing criminals, preserving order, protecting our revered American monuments, and promoting beautification and the preservation of our history and heritage.”
Image by dbking.
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