City of Louisville has 'no plans' to return controversial statue to Cherokee Triangle

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The legal battle over a controversial statue in Louisville is continuing into the summer as the city has no plans to return the statue to its original location.

In April, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that lower courts erred when they agreed the city properly removed the controversial John B. Castleman statue from Cherokee Triangle in 2020.

"The supreme court's decision was pretty clear, the decision to remove the statue has been reversed, so the statue should go back," attorney Steve Porter said.

That's exactly what attorney Steve Porter argued on behalf of Friends of Louisville Public art during a hearing Monday, filing a motion to re-install the statue to its original location.

The thrust of the supreme court case was not whether the statue of Castleman — a depiction of him riding a horse, dressed in civilian clothes — served as a symbol of "racist or bigoted ideology," as former Mayor Greg Fischer has said, but whether the city followed due process in removing it.

Porter argued in the supreme court case that two commissioners on the Historic Landmarks Commission, which voted to remove the statue, had a conflict of interest as they were hired by Fischer.

CASTLEMAN COURT FEED — Attorney Steve Porter speaks on May 22, 2023.

The monument formerly in the Cherokee Triangle neighborhood was the center of controversy for years because critics argue that Castleman is closely associated with the Confederacy and white supremacy. The statue that was erected in 1913 has been vandalized numerous times.

It is currently housed in a gated government lot and covered in bright orange spray paint.

But the group fighting to save the statue has argued that Castleman redeemed himself later in his life, renouncing the confederate cause, calling on white soldiers to salute black officers in World War I and helping to establish Louisville’s park system.

"At this point with the [Kentucky Supreme Court] decision just being four days past final, Metro Government is still looking at all the options," said Anne Scholtz, an attorney representing the city.

She argues with the commission's decision thrown out, it's unclear how the city proceed. The Landmark Commission's vote followed a January 2019 vote by the Cherokee Triangle Review Commission that ended in a tie, meaning the statue could not be removed. But Scholtz argued Monday during the motion hearing that it's not that simple.

"The ordinance said a tie vote is a denial, but it also says that in order to appeal something you have to have findings of fact and they didn't make any findings of fact," Scholtz said.

Porter believes the city's options are fairly simple.

"The option is to either put it back up or to file another certificate to remove the statue and go through that process again," Porter said.

During the motion hearing, Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Jennifer Wilcox made no final decision about re-installing the statue, but asked the city to present what it's plan will be at a later hearing.

Kevin Trager, spokesperson for the Mayor's Office, said Louisville Metro Government is continuing to examine its legal options and plans to communicate its position to the court by June 1.

"Louisville Metro Government has no plans to place the Castleman statue back in its original location nor any interest in doing so," Trager said.

The two sides are scheduled to meet again in court on June 21.

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