Photo of the statue commemorating Confederate General Albert Pike taken in 2017 in Washington, D.C.
Alex Brandon/AP
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Alex Brandon/AP
The statue of Confederate General Albert Pike, which was torn down and set on fire in Washington, D.C. in June 2020 during the Black Lives Matter movement, has been repaired and reinstalled in Judiciary Square. Saturday's reinstallation was a continuation of previous work by the National Park Service. announcement that the federal government intended to restore the statue, which it said was damaged in the “riots.”
The Pike monument was first erected in 1901, but has long remained a controversial issue in the nation's capital.
The Pike statue is the only monument in Washington, D.C. dedicated to a Confederate general, but it does not mention his military history. Pike, who was a Freemason and was pardoned by President Andrew Johnson, is also called by historians Maybe took part in the development of the Ku Klux Klan in the period after the Civil War.
A plaque at the base of the statue, originally erected by the Freemasons, calls Pike “a writer, poet, scientist, soldier, lawyer, orator, philanthropist and philosopher.”
Members of the D.C. Council, the district's legislative body, are calling for the statue's removal. since 1992.
In an unsigned statement sent to NPR on Monday, the National Park Service wrote: “On August 4, 2025, the National Park Service announced that it will restore and reinstall the bronze statue of Albert Pike that was damaged and vandalized during the Black Lives Matter riots in June 2020.” statues.”
In a statement released Monday, Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-N.C.) objected to reinstall the statue, calling it “an affront to the predominantly black and brown residents of the District of Columbia and an affront to members of the military who serve honorably.”
“Pike himself served dishonorably. He took up arms against the United States, embezzled funds, and was ultimately captured and imprisoned by his own troops,” Norton continued. “He resigned in disgrace after committing a war crime and disgracing even his own Confederate military service. Confederate statues should be placed in museums as historical artifacts, rather than remaining in parks or other places that imply honor. Pike represents the worst of the Confederacy and has no claim to be immortalized in the nation's capital.” In August, Norton introduced a bill to permanently remove the Pike statue.
