The statue of Albert Pike was toppled and set on fire amid the BLM unrest in 2020<\/p>\n
The only outdoor memorial honoring a Confederate general in the US capital has been renovated and re-installed.
\nThe monument to Massachusetts native Albert Pike reappeared in its place on Sunday. It was first dedicated in 1901 by local freemasons in honor of Pike\u2019s service to the fraternity, and stood in Judiciary Square until it was vandalized, pulled down, and set ablaze in June 2020 amid the nationwide Black Lives Matter unrest.
\nThe damaged statue was removed from the scene by the National Park Service (NPS) shortly afterward, while its pedestal was left standing in the square. The base of the monument was covered in pro-BLM graffiti but was cleaned of it after the BLM protests waned.
\nThe agency announced plans to reinstall the statue back in August, citing US President Donald Trump\u2019s executive order on \u2018Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful\u2019 and the order on \u2018Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History\u2019.\u00a0
\n\u201cThe restoration aligns with federal responsibilities under historic preservation law as well as recent executive orders to beautify the nation\u2019s capital and reinstate pre-existing statues,\u201d the NSA said at the time.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
\u2018Disgrace to our country!\u2019 Trump calls for arrests as activists topple & BURN statue of Confederate Gen. Albert Pike in DC (VIDEO)<\/p>\n
The re-erection of Pike\u2019s statue has been harshly criticized by Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, a Democrat representing the district in Congress, who had introduced a bill demanding the permanent removal of the monument upon the initial NPS announcement.
\nShe slammed the return of the statue as \u201can affront to the mostly Black and Brown residents of the District of Columbia.\u201d She also claimed the reinstallation of the monument was \u201coffensive to members of the military who serve honorably,\u201d pointing to Pike\u2019s turbulent career fighting for the rebellious South.
\n\u201cPike himself served dishonorably. He took up arms against the United States, misappropriated funds, and was ultimately captured and imprisoned by his own troops,\u201d Norton said. \u201cConfederate statues should be placed in museums as historical artifacts, not remain in parks or other locations that imply honor. Pike represents the worst of the Confederacy and has no claim to be memorialized in the nation\u2019s capital.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The statue of Albert Pike was toppled and set on fire amid the BLM unrest in 2020 The only outdoor memorial honoring a Confederate general in the US capital has…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":21401,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t