The National Park Service has confirmed it will restore and reinstall the bronze statue of Albert Pike in Washington, D.C., five years after protesters tore it down during nationwide demonstrations for racial justice.
The move marks the first high-profile reinstatement of a monument under President Donald Trump’s efforts to reassert his vision of American history.
The Pike statue, which commemorates a Confederate general and longtime leader of the Freemasons, had been in storage since it was toppled and set ablaze by protesters near Judiciary Square in June 2020. Initially authorized by Congress in 1898 and dedicated in 1901, the statue is now being repaired by the National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Training Center, with reinstallation expected by October.
However, due to his reputation, many people are pushing back on the president’s decision, and think Pike’s statue should remain in storage.
“[Albert Pike] was about as destructive and subversive to our country as they come,” one social media user said. “This is NOT a person we should be erecting a statue of, especially with taxpayer funds.”
The restoration follows a series of Trump executive orders that direct federal agencies to reinstall statues and monuments removed since 2020 and remove what the orders describe as “divisive race-centered ideology” from museums and public sites. The National Park Service said the effort supports Trump’s executive order to “beautify” the District of Columbia and restore what he claims is a “truthful” version of American history.
Trump’s orders also call for an overhaul of the Smithsonian Institution and a park-by-park review of statues, memorials, exhibits, and educational materials under the Department of the Interior’s jurisdiction.
The language in the orders rejects “false reconstruction” of history and demands content that highlights “the greatness of the achievements and progress of the American people,” while avoiding depictions that “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living,” including those from colonial times.
Historians say the language is a direct nod to the Lost Cause ideology that has long tried to sanitize the Confederacy’s legacy and erase the truth about slavery’s role in the Civil War.
“You can’t control historical memory by controlling monuments,” Erin Thompson, author of “Smashing Statues,” told NPR. “There are too many ways of telling the truth — through books, education, and lived experience.”
Critics say Trump’s monument restoration push is part of a sweeping campaign to dismantle civil rights protections and rewrite history through the lens of white grievance.
The firing of Carla Hayden, the first Black Librarian of Congress, is one such example. Despite being a nonpartisan appointee confirmed by a bipartisan Senate vote, Hayden was abruptly dismissed earlier this year.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt falsely accused her of promoting “inappropriate books,” even though the Library of Congress does not lend books to children or adults.
Trump has also cut refugee admissions for those fleeing violence in majority nonwhite countries while creating a special pathway for white South African immigrants. In May, 49 Afrikaners were flown into Washington on a chartered flight, welcomed by U.S. officials — not immigration agents — after Trump claimed they were victims of “race-based discrimination.” At the same time, more than 100,000 previously approved refugees from Africa and the Middle East remain stranded due to Trump’s suspension of the U.S. refugee resettlement program.
Despite fierce opposition, the National Park Service is moving forward. Restoration crews are already repairing the Pike statue’s masonry base and cleaning the bronze sculpture in preparation for reinstalment this fall. The agency has framed the action as a legal obligation under federal historic preservation law, but its timing and symbolism suggest otherwise.
“This isn’t about preserving history. It’s about distorting it to protect the myth of white American innocence,” said Alan Spears of the National Parks Conservation Association. “Every American who cares about our country’s history should be worried about what people, places, and themes disappear next.”