Baltimore's Toppled Columbus Statue Revived on White House Campus

The Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations (COPOMIAO), in collaboration with the Trump Administration, installed a replica of the destroyed Baltimore monument in front of the Eisenhower building.

WASHINGTON, March 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Unveiled in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan, destroyed in 2020 during civil unrest and revived by COPOMIAO and President Donald Trump, the Baltimore Columbus statue now stands on the White House campus in celebration of Italian American history and culture.

The installation, spearheaded by COPOMIAO President Basil M. Russo in coordination with the Italian American Organizations United, which commissioned both the original statue and its replica, was months in the making and part of the White House's "America250" undertaking.

Read Trump's letter to Russo here.

"Columbus statues have long stood as symbols of pride and cultural identity for more than 18 million Americans of Italian descent," said Russo. "For over a century, Columbus's legacy helped Italian immigrants navigate prejudice and hardship, serving as a source of unity and belonging as they built new lives in this country. Columbus Day itself emerged in the aftermath of the 1891 New Orleans lynching, when 11 Italian immigrants were killed by a mob of thousands, an event that prompted a national effort to promote the acceptance and assimilation of Italian Americans. This history remains central to why these monuments matter."

The 13-foot, one-ton replica was built, in part, with pieces of the shattered statue that were retrieved from the Baltimore Harbor. Baltimore officials refused to install the new statue in public, prompting Russo to initiate correspondence with the Trump Administration.

This historic move by the White House is the latest in a series of advocacy and legal victories for COPOMIAO. Through its National Counsel George Bochetto, the organization secured back-to-back unanimous rulings in Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Court, blocking the removal of Pittsburgh's Columbus statue and restoring Columbus Day as a citywide holiday in Philadelphia. Bochetto also prevented the deconstruction of Philadelphia's nearly 150-year-old Columbus monument.

In the coming days, COPOMIAO will announce its next major pro-Columbus lawsuit, and the organization continues to work on all levels, from grass roots activism to its collaboration with the Italian American Congressional Delegation on Capitol Hill, to advocate for Italian American culture.

ABOUT COPOMIAO

COPOMIAO, based in NYC, is a national coalition of 74 cultural, educational, fraternal and anti-defamation groups. Contact COPOMIAO here.

SOURCE The Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations