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Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Rewrites History by Putting Up Confederate Statue
President Donald Trump plans to bring a statue of a Confederate general back to the heart of the nation's capital. The likeness of Gen. Albert Pike, which stood outside the Metropolitan Police Department Headquarters in Washington, D.C., had ropes slung around its neck before it was yanked from its plinth and set alight during the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. Pike, a Confederate army general who championed the secession of the South, had worked with Native Americans from tribes that owned slaves and joined with the Confederacy to defend slavery during the Civil War. The statue honoring Pike, standing about a mile from the White House, had long been denounced before it was removed. The National Park Service announced Monday that the bronze monument will soon return to its old spot in Judiciary Square, as crews finalize a refurbishment. The agency aims to have the statue standing by October, according Trump's executive orders designed to, in the president's eyes, restore 'truth and sanity to American history.' The Confederacy never conquered D.C., and the District of Columbia Council called for the statue to be removed in a 1992 resolution before renewing the demand in 2017. Critics of the statue also cited claims that Pike joined the Ku Klux Klan when the war ended, according to The New York Times, though historians say the claim cannot be conclusively proven. Pike, who was also a prominent leader of the Freemasons, was known to oppose racial integration in Masonic lodges. He also wrote in 1868 that the 'white race, and that race alone, shall govern this country. It is the only one that is fit to govern, and it is the only one that shall.' 'Site preparation to repair the statue's damaged masonry plinth will begin shortly, with crews repairing broken stone, mortar joints and mounting elements,' the National Park Service said. The move has rankled many, including D.C.'s delegate to the House of Representatives, Eleanor Holmes Norton. The veteran Democrat, 88, told the CBS affiliate WUSA on Monday that the statue should become an artifact rather than being displayed publicly. 'I've long believed Confederate statues should be placed in museums as historical artifacts, not remain in locations that imply honor,' she said. 'President Trump's longstanding determination to honor Confederate General Albert Pike by restoring and reinstalling the Pike statue is as indefensible as it is morally objectionable,' she added. Norton also said she will resurrect a bill that would 'permanently remove the statue of Pike and authorize the Secretary of the Interior to donate the statue to a museum or a similar entity.' 'A statue honoring a racist and a traitor has no place on the streets of D.C.,' she said. Norton and many others have argued that Pike 'served dishonorably' and noted that he 'took up arms against the United States [and] misappropriated funds.' His work to preserve slavery along with the Confederates has placed him in the crosshairs of modern protesters, but Trump has previously argued that 'both the good and the bad' parts of history should be remembered with public artworks. Jason Charter, a D.C. local who was arrested by the FBI for allegedly dousing the statue with lighter fluid before setting it alight, responded angrily to the news that it will return. 'I did not get arrested by the FBI, so that statue could go back up,' he tweeted on Monday. The move comes as part of a sweeping Trump campaign to restore Confederate iconography across public spaces and the military. Earlier this year, the president ordered the Pentagon to reinstate the names of Army bases originally named after Confederate generals—names that had been stripped during the racial reckoning that followed the 2020 police killing of George Floyd. Trump also signed an executive order demanding that monuments taken down during those protests be restored. White House special assistant to the president Lindsey Halligan told the Daily Beast that the statue was 'removed under ideological pressure.' 'Thank you to the National Park Service for announcing the restoration of the Albert Pike statue after it was unlawfully toppled and vandalized,' she said. She added: 'Erected in 1901 and funded entirely by private Masonic organizations, the statue stood for over a century as a tribute to Pike's contributions as a scholar and Masonic leader. 'Such action aligns with President Trump's Executive Order 14253, which calls for reinstating monuments removed under ideological pressure. It's encouraging to see our National Park Service stand up for historical preservation, due process, and the rule of law.' Solve the daily Crossword
The Independent
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Toppled Confederate statue in DC to be replaced in line with Trump's executive order
A statue of a Confederate general that was toppled by protesters in Washington in 2020 will be restored and replaced this fall, in line with President Donald Trump 's pushback on recent efforts to reframe America's historical narrative. The National Park Service announced Monday that the statue of Albert Pike, a Confederate brigadier general and a revered figure among Freemasons, would resume its previous position in Washington's Judiciary Square, a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol. It was the only outdoor statue of a Confederate military leader in the nation's capital. The statue was pulled down with ropes and chains on Juneteenth in 2020 as part of mass protests following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police. Confederate statues around the country were toppled by similar protests while several military bases named for Confederate leaders were renamed. The Pike statue restoration, which is targeted for October, 'aligns with federal responsibilities under historic preservation law as well as recent executive orders to beautify the nation's capital and reinstate pre-existing statues,' the park service said in a statement. In March, Trump issued an executive order entitled 'Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.' It decried post-Floyd efforts to reinterpret American history, stating, 'rather than fostering unity and a deeper understanding of our shared past, the widespread effort to rewrite history deepens societal divides and fosters a sense of national shame." The order targeted the Smithsonian network of museums as having 'come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology.' It also instructed the Interior Department to restore any statue or display that was 'removed or changed to perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history, inappropriately minimize the value of certain historical events or figures, or include any other improper partisan ideology.' Pike, who died in 1891, is more known for his decades-long stint as a senior leader of the Freemasons than for his Confederate military career. The Masons lobbied Congress for the right to erect the statue on NPS land in 1901 — provided that he be depicted in civilian, not military, garb. But Pike did lead a regiment for the Confederacy during the Civil War. And as the only outdoor statue of a Confederate leader in Washington, D.C., it had been a source of controversy for decades. Even the brief Park Service page on the statue notes that it has 'stirred opposition since it was first planned.' A long history of demands for its removal The D.C. Council asked for its removal in 1992. In 2017, Mayor Muriel Bowser struck an agreement with congressional leaders to eventually remove it. When protesters toppled the statue in 2020 while police officers looked on, Trump — then in his first term — called it 'a disgrace to our Country' on social media and called for their immediate arrests. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Washington's non-voting delegate in Congress, called the Park Service move 'odd and indefensible' in a statement Monday. Norton said she would introduce legislation to remove the statue permanently and place it in a museum. 'I've long believed Confederate statues should be placed in museums as historical artifacts," she said, 'not remain in parks and locations that imply honor.'
Washington Post
7 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Toppled Confederate statue in DC to be replaced in line with Trump's executive order
WASHINGTON — A statue of a Confederate general that was toppled by protesters in Washington in 2020 will be restored and replaced this fall, in line with President Donald Trump's pushback on recent efforts to reframe America's historical narrative. The National Park Service announced Monday that the statue of Albert Pike, a Confederate brigadier general and a revered figure among Freemasons, would resume its previous position in Washington's Judiciary Square, a few blocks from the U.S. Capitol. It was the only outdoor statue of a Confederate military leader in the nation's capital.
The Guardian
22-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Shock on streets of DC after Israeli embassy staff shooting: ‘It's horrifying'
The sombre mood in the streets around Washington's Capital Jewish Museum on Thursday morning seemed to be aptly caught by the cast-iron grey skies and lightly falling drizzle. Roughly 12 hours after a gunman shot dead two Israeli embassy employees near the museum's front entrance, residents and workers in the city's Judiciary Square district were grappling with the sudden explosion of violence. Many had assumed they might have a certain immunity thanks to the neighboring presence of the Metropolitan police headquarters and Washington's FBI field office. Both are situated on nearby streets. The sense of shock was summed up by Laurie Walborn, 62, who turned up for work at a children's law centre, nextdoor to the museum, only to find the entire block cordoned off by police tape and forced to make a detour. 'It's horrifying,' she said. 'I have walked by the museum a lot of times and never thought about it. This country is in trouble. The climate in the country is such that it's now OK to hate someone and I am afraid the Trump administration, from the way it is talking to representatives of foreign governments, is encouraging it. There is a pervasive feeling of hate.' Tricia, 47, a ceramic artist out walking her dogs, described hearing the police response from her home three blocks from the museum. She initially relished moving from her previous home in Los Angeles to an area close to Washington's historic government district after her husband was offered a job in a non-profit group specializing in privacy law. 'I heard the really loud response just after 9pm,' she said. 'You often hear police sirens around here when it's part of a motorcade telling other drivers to get out the way. But this time, the noise was constant and focused on the one place. It was frightening. 'We love living in DC and we thought we were on the precipice of something exciting but this is not what we had in mind and things haven't turned out as we imagined,' she said. Citing the 'political atmosphere', she said: 'Right now, it feels like humanity is emboldened to do things that, as a society, we should be afraid to do.' Those near the scene on the morning after the attack included Jewish people who had come to pay their respects. One, a 19-year-old high school student who wanted to remain anonymous, turned up because he was close to people at the Israeli embassy who knew the two victims, Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and his girlfriend, Sarah Milgrim. 'I know people who knew them very well,' he said. 'My best friend's dad is high up in the Israeli embassy and he worked with them. I'm the type of person who wants to pursue the truth, even if it paints my own people in a bad light. 'But seeing people coming here full of hate, not knowing the full picture, really troubles me. The person who carried out this attack was screaming 'free Palestine', yet this event was being held to try and get more aid into Gaza.' The suspect in Wednesday night's attack, was named by police as Elias Rodriguez, 30, from Chicago. He was said to have entered the museum after carrying out the shooting and initially mistaken by confused workers as a victim. An eyewitness, Katie Kalisher, told Fox News that workers had heard 'some gunshots and we didn't immediately understand what was going on'. She added: 'A man came in, and he was covered in rain and he said 'call the police'. We thought he was just walking around, and had witnessed a crime, so the security guards let him inside. One of my friends even said to him 'are you OK, can I get you some water?' And he was like, 'yeah, sure, that would be great'. 'And he's like playing dumb with me, asking what kind of museum is this? And I told him it's a Jewish museum.' After that, Kalisher said, the man reached into his bag, pulled out a keffiyeh, and said: 'I did this for Gaza. Free Palestine.' The museum is housed in a former synagogue, constructed in 1876, that is believed to be the oldest surviving synagogue building in Washington. It was moved to its current location in 1969 after being threatened with demolition and restored as a museum. It regularly hosts exhibitions depicting Jewish life in the US capital. Recently it opened an exhibitions exploring the history of LGBTQ+ Jews in the city. Jeffrey Elikan, 59, a lawyer, arrived on the scene on Thursday after being alerted by his local rabbi, who had asked members of his congregation to visit the site and say a prayer for the victims. He attributed the attack to hatred and antisemitism, which he said Americans had to reject. 'I'm sure there's fault across the political spectrum, on the left and on the right, but fundamentally, this is something that I feel Americans need to reject. This is supposed to be a country of tolerance and a safe haven for people,' he said, describing how his father and grandparents escaped to the US from Nazi Germany in the 1930s. He added: 'This kind of of action should be condemned universally across the political spectrum, whether people support Israel's war in Gaza, or whether their sympathies [lies] with the Gazan population.'
