United States news Albert Pike and set it ablaze on
Juneteenth, the day marking the end of slavery in the United States “/ > Demonstrators take down statue of Albert Pike and set it ablaze on Juneteenth, the day marking the end of slavery in the US Play Video
0:50 Protesters fall statue of Confederate general in Washington DC– video Protesters toppled the only statue of a Confederate general in the nation's capital and set it on fire on Juneteenth, the day marking completion of slavery in the US, amidst continuing anti-racism demonstrations after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Cheering demonstrators jumped up and down as the 11-foot (3.4-meter )statue of Albert Pike– covered with chains– wobbled on its high granite pedestal prior to falling backwards, landing in a pile of dust. Protesters then set a bonfire and loafed it in a circle as the statue burned, shouting,” No justice, no peace, no racist authorities “. Eyewitness accounts and videos published on social media showed police were on the scene however did not intervene. The president, Donald Trump, quickly tweeted about the toppling, calling out DC mayor Muriel Bowser and writing:” The DC cops are not doing their task as they saw a statue be ripped down and burn. These people must be right away arrested. A disgrace to our country.” Pleased protesters read out Trump's tweet over a bullhorn and cheered. After the statue fell, many protesters returned in harmony to Lafayette park near the White House. The Pike statue has provided controversy over the years. The previous Confederate general was likewise a long time influential leader of the Freemasons, who revere Pike and who paid for the statue. Pike's body is interred at the DC head office of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, which also consists of a little museum in his honor. The statue, dedicated in 1901, was found in Judiciary Square about half a mile from the United States Capitol. It was built at the demand of Masons who effectively lobbied Congress to grant them land for the statue as long as Pike would be depicted in civilian– not military– clothes. Racial stress in the nation reached boiling point and spilled into the streets after Floyd's killing late last month. Video revealed a white police officer pressing his knee against Floyd's neck for nearly 8 minutes as the handcuffed black male stated:” I can't breathe.” The officer, Derek Chauvin, has been=
” u-underline” > charged with murder. Civil liberties activists and some local government officials in DC had actually campaigned for years to get the statue taken down but needed the federal government's approval to do so.
” Ever because 1992, members of the DC council have been getting in touch with the federal government to remove the statue of Confederate Albert Pike (a federal memorial on federal land). We unanimously renewed our call to Congress to remove it in 2017,” the DC council tweeted Friday.
A proposed resolution requiring the elimination of the statue referred to Pike as a “primary creator of the post-civil war Ku Klux Klan.” The Klan connection is a frequent accusation from Pike's critics and one which the Masons conflict.