Stephen Pierce, a George Washington impersonator, said the Trump administration was trying to censor the past.
“In every authoritarian dictatorship, they always go after the information first,” Pierce said. “The information that doesn’t fit with their clean narrative. And we said, ‘Oh, hell no,’ and we stopped them. And we’re going to keep on stopping them.”
Councilmember Nina Ahmad further criticized the Trump administration’s move to remove the exhibit, but thanked those who worked to restore it.
“They are watching this man dismantle everything we hold dear,” Ahmad said. “He’s dismantling democracy, but people know around the world that local people are standing up in these places, so it is very important we show up.”