Statue honoring Confederate General Albert Pike restored after 2020 BLM riots

A bronze statue of Accomplice Common Albert Pike, which was toppled by protesters in 2020 following the demise of George Floyd, was reinstalled in Washington, D.C. this previous weekend

The statue, which stands 11 ft tall on a 15-foot granite pedestal, was pulled down with ropes, sprayed with graffiti and set on fireplace by protesters who noticed it as a logo of systemic racism and the Confederacy.

The vandalism occurred on June 19, 2020, also called Juneteenth, the day that acknowledges the top of slavery in the USA. It got here as a wave of protests and riots swept the nation following the demise of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

HEGSETH ANNOUNCES RETURN OF CONFEDERATE MEMORIAL TO ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY, REMOVED BY ‘WOKE LEMMINGS’

The bronze statue of Accomplice Gen. Albert Pike, which was toppled by protesters in 2020, is seen after it was reinstalled in Washington, D.C., this previous weekend on account of President Donald Trump’s government orders. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)

The statue had been in storage for 5 years, however crews have been seen placing it again on its pedestal close to Judiciary Sq. on Saturday. The monument is situated close to the nook of third Road and D Road NW.

The hassle to revive the statue follows President Donald Trump’s 2020 government orders on “Making the District of Columbia Secure and Lovely” and “Restoring Fact and Sanity to American Historical past.”

The orders directed federal companies to guard and restore historic monuments broken throughout the 2020 protests. The orders additionally referred to as for the safety of American monuments, the preservation of American historical past and heritage, and the battle towards the “revisionist motion.”

Pike was a Accomplice common within the Civil Conflict and in addition served as an affiliate justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court docket.

He was one of the influential figures within the historical past of American Freemasonry and the statue itself reveals Pike wearing Masonic clothes, with a double-breasted vest and an extended coat. His proper arm is prolonged and along with his left arm he holds a guide, most likely his work: ‘Morals and Dogmas of the Historical and Accepted Scottish Ceremony of Freemasonry’.

A aspect view of the statue seen Monday. The statue was erected in 1901 in honor of Pike’s Masonic scholarship. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)

DAVID MARCUS: TRUMP ADOPTS SMITHSONIAN’S LEFT ADVANCES AND STATUE-TOPPING LIBS Melted Away

The statue was funded by the Scottish Ceremony of Freemasonry and was erected in 1901 to honor Pike’s Masonic scholarship, the White Home mentioned.

The Nationwide Park Service mentioned the transfer to revive the monument is in keeping with federal legislation and coverage.

“The Nationwide Park Service introduced on August 4, 2025 that it’s going to restore and reinstall the bronze Albert Pike statue that was broken and destroyed throughout the Black Lives Matter riots in June 2020,” the company mentioned in a press release to Fox Information Digital. “The restoration is in keeping with federal duties below the Historic Preservation Act and up to date government orders to beautify the nation’s capital and restore pre-existing statues.”

Nevertheless, the try to revive the statue was rebuffed by Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.D.C., who tried for years to completely take away it.

The pedestal the place the statue of Accomplice Common Albert Pike as soon as stood stays lined in graffiti after demonstrators tore it down throughout protests at Judiciary Sq. in Washington, DC, on June 20, 2020, following the demise of George Floyd. (Alex Wroblewski/Getty Photos)

See also  Jay Jones wins Virginia attorney general race for Democrats in upset

“This morally reprehensible transfer is an insult to the predominantly Black and brown residents of the District of Columbia and insulting to members of the navy who serve honorably,” Norton mentioned in a press release.

“Pike himself served dishonorably. He took up arms towards the USA, embezzled funds and was finally captured and imprisoned by his personal forces,” she added. “He resigned in shame after committing a battle crime and even dishonoring his personal Accomplice navy service.”

Holmes Norton mentioned Accomplice statues must be positioned in museums as historic artifacts and that Pike “represents the worst of the Confederacy and has no declare to be memorialized within the nation’s capital.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Norton launched a invoice in August to completely take away the statue and authorize the Secretary of the Inside to donate it to a museum or related entity.

Norton’s invoice was handed by the Home Committee on Pure Sources throughout the 116th Congress.

Fox Information’ Rachel del Guidice contributed to this report.