WASHINGTON, DC — D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton says now is the time to remove a statue memorializing Confederate General Albert Pike in Judiciary Square, and she has introduced legislation to do just that.

Norton announced the legislation in a July 30 statement, noting that the bill would call for the U.S. Interior Department to remove the century-old statue, which sits on federal land. The Freemasons contributed most of the original money to erect the statue in 1901 (Pike was a Mason and D.C. resident), and they now support the statue's removal, Norton said.

The statue drew attention from local protesters following violence in Charlottesville, Va. in 2017, when white supremacists descended on the town protesting the removal of a statue to Confederate General Robert E. Lee. Instead of tearing down and destroying the statue, Norton wants it to be preserved in a more "appropriate" setting, like a museum.

"Pike was a Confederate general who served dishonorably and was forced to resign in disgrace," Norton said in the statement. "It was found that soldiers under his command mutilated the bodies of Union soldiers, and Pike was ultimately imprisoned after his fellow officers reported that he misappropriated funds. Adding to the dishonor of taking up arms against the United States, Pike dishonored even his Confederate military service. He certainly has no claim to be memorialized in the nation's capital. Even those who do not want Confederate statues removed will have to justify awarding Pike any honor, considering his history." The bill would not allow any federal funds to be used to remove the statue.