WASHINGTON—The statue of a Confederate general in the District of Columbia was restored over the weekend, after being toppled and set on fire during the 2020 George Floyd riots.
The monument to Confederate General Albert Pike, which sits in Washington’s Judiciary Square, was reinstalled on Oct. 26. The National Park Service in August had signaled it would replace the statue, which was originally erected by Scottish Rite Freemasons in 1901 to honor Pike for his contributions to the organization.
The restoration aligns with President Donald Trump’s executive orders restoring controversial historical monuments, the agency said in a statement.
Trump had previously referred to the toppling of the statue as “a disgrace to our country.” The comment followed previous statements by the president stating that removing statues of famous but controversial figures was “changing history.”…