Overview
- The National Park Service announced on August 4 that it will restore and reinstall the bronze statue of Confederate General Albert Pike in Washington, D.C.
- The monument has been in secure storage since its removal in 2020 and is undergoing conservation at the Park Service’s Historic Preservation Training Center.
- The project follows federal historic preservation requirements and two executive orders from President Trump to beautify the capital and reinstate pre-existing monuments.
- Protesters toppled and set the statue on fire outside the Metropolitan Police Department headquarters in June 2020 during racial justice demonstrations.
- Congress originally authorized the statue in 1898, and Freemasons required that Pike be depicted in civilian clothing when it was dedicated in 1901.