(AP) CLAIM: Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser proposed using her power to remove the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
AP’S ASSESSMENT: False. Mayor Bowser’s office confirmed that the mayor did not call for the removal of the Washington Monument or Lincoln Memorial. The monuments are on federal land outside the mayor’s jurisdiction.
THE FACTS: Posts online are misrepresenting a report released Tuesday by the District of Columbia Facilities and Commemorative Expressions task force. The task force was formed by Bowser over the summer in response to nationwide protests over police brutality. The task force recommended renaming, relocating and adding context to monuments, schools, parks and buildings. The mayor has not called for the changes or endorsed them.
“The DCFACES Policy Committee is proposing key recommendations to aid the District as it considers how to rename, remove, or contextualize the namesakes of public spaces or commemorative works moving forward,” the report says.
However, the scope of what the D.C. government can do is limited. The Associated Press reported Wednesday that many of the monuments and statues in the nation’s capital _ including the Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial _ are on federal land, which would be outside the local government’s control.
“Mayor Bowser has asked the DC FACES Working Group to clarify and refine their recommendations to focus on local DC, so no one attempts to confuse the Working Group’s focus on contextualizing not removing important monuments and memorials in DC,” LaToya Foster, director of communications for the mayor, said in an email.
Following the backlash, a page reviewing statues and memorials was removed from the report.
The false posts online received hundreds of thousands of shares on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The posts suggested that the mayor was attempting to erase or rewrite history for the city.
The White House responded to the task force’s report saying that the president would not allow the recommendations to move forward.
“As long as President Trump is in the White House, the mayor’s irresponsible recommendations will go absolutely nowhere, and as the mayor of our Nation’s capital city — a city that belongs to the American people — she ought to be ashamed for even suggesting them for consideration,” White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement Tuesday.
The mayor’s office told the AP that it was interesting that the White House was commenting on “an intragovernmental report about how to recognize all sides of our history.” One of the group’s suggestions included renaming Woodrow Wilson High School due to Wilson’s open public support for segregation.
Bowser said in a tweet Tuesday that she looked forward to reviewing and advancing the recommendations.
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Associated Press reporter Ashraf Khalil contributed to this report.
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