NPS Reinstalls Albert Pike Statue in DC

The National Park Service reinstalled the bronze statue of Confederate Gen. Albert Pike at Judiciary Square in Washington, D.C., after a months-long restoration following its toppling, defacement and burning by demonstrators on Juneteenth 2020. The restoration was carried out under NPS authority at the NPS Historic Preservation Training Center and framed as complying with historic-preservation law and executive orders from President Donald Trump directing federal agencies to restore monuments. Erected in 1901 by Washington Freemasons atop a 16-foot granite pedestal, the Pike monument was pulled down during nationwide George Floyd protests, spray-painted and set aflame before being placed in storage. Its return is now behind fencing and guarded by National Park Police, and it has provoked sharp debate: supporters cite preservation and the administration’s broader effort to restore controversial memorials, while critics including D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton call the reinstatement “morally objectionable” and argue Confederate figures belong in museums, not public parks. Opponents also point to Pike’s Confederate service and alleged ties to white-supremacist activity as reasons the monument is inappropriate for public honorific display.