US Activists, Conservatives Push to Restore Monuments Removed During 2020 Protests
Following nationwide demonstrations and unrest after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, dozens of monuments honoring European and American historical figures were removed in what some observers have described as the “statue wars.”
One notable case involved Columbus, Ohio, where a 22-foot statue of explorer Christopher Columbus was removed from City Hall in 2020. At the time, then-Mayor Andrew Ginther, a Democrat, described the monument as a reminder of the country’s “ugly past.”
More recently, a coalition of Italian-American organizations filed a federal lawsuit seeking its reinstatement, arguing that the removal was “unlawful and discriminatory.” They claim the statue represents Italian-American heritage, civic history, and long-standing cultural ties between Columbus, Ohio, and Genoa, Italy, where it was originally produced.
“The silent majority is becoming vocal,” Jack Conte, identified as an organizer involved in the lawsuit, was cited as saying. “You reach a point where this stuff is shoved down your throat, and you can only take so much of it.”
The push has also received backing from the Trump administration. According to reports, the US president issued an executive order in 2025 calling for the restoration of monuments removed since 2020 if they were taken down as part of what he described as efforts to “perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history.”
As part of these initiatives, a replica of a Columbus statue was installed near the White House, replacing an earlier version that had been toppled during protests in Baltimore. In addition, the administration restored a statue of Delaware Founding Father Caesar Rodney to Freedom Plaza in Washington ahead of the country’s 250th anniversary. Rodney had been removed in 2020 due to renewed scrutiny over his status as a slave owner.
Data cited from World Heritage USA indicates that a total of 261 monuments across the country were removed, damaged, or destroyed during the protest period, with more than half connected to Confederate figures.
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