Louisville won't return Castleman statue to Cherokee Triangle after Supreme Court ruling, mayor says

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville's mayor said the John B. Castleman statue won't return to its place in Cherokee Triangle after the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled the city made a mistake in removing it in 2020.

The thrust of the 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.

The high court agreed in a 6-1 vote that the city did not follow due process because two commissioners on the Historic Landmarks Commission, which voted to remove the statue, had a conflict of interest.

"The decision-making participation in this matter by Louisville Metro employees is an inherent and intolerable conflict of interest," Chief Justice Laurence B. Vanmeter wrote for the majority.

When asked if the city intended to then return the statue to its spot in the roundabout at Cherokee Triangle, Mayor Craig Greenberg said the city is still deciding on a permanent solution.

"Louisville Metro Government has no plans to place the Castleman statue back in its original location nor any interest in doing so," Greenberg said in a written statement Monday via his spokesman, Kevin Trager. "We are exploring our options on what to do with the statue and will keep the community informed as we move forward."

The monument in the Highlands was the center of controversy for years because its critics argue that Castleman is closely associated with the Confederacy and white supremacy. The statue, which was erected in 1913, was vandalized numerous times.

The statue currently sits in a gated government lot, covered in bright orange spray paint.

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