A statue that grabbed the attention of Washingtonians and tourists alike was back on full display on the National Mall Thursday, after being removed one week ago.
Colloquially referred to as the “Trump-Epstein friendship statue,” the installation depicted the president, Donald Trump, and the late disgraced financier and sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, holding hands and skipping. The creators of the project, who are part of the group “Secret Handshake,” said it was removed from the Mall on Sept. 24 by U.S. Park Police and the National Park Service, one day after it had gone up. The original permit said it was allowed to remain on the Mall until 8 p.m. Sept. 28, however, it included a clause that the permit could be revoked at any time as long as the permittee was notified of the reason at least 24 hours in advance.
Members of the “Secret Handshake” said they retrieved the statue, which had been broken, on Sept. 25 and spent hours putting it back together. With a new permit issued, they were hoping to get it back on the National Mall immediately, but said they hit a few roadblocks.
“We were told this permit was approved many times, but had not received it in person yet,” one member who asked to speak anonymously explained. “All of a sudden, everything changed. We were informed that the Deputy Director of the National Park Service had stepped in and overridden our approved permit to revoke it once again. No explanation was given as to why. We were also told the Deputy Director said to never issue us a permit ever again.”
WUSA9 was told the statue was back on the Mall as of 2:30 p.m. Thursday. We have reached out to NPS for comment, but have not yet heard back.
Group organizers said they had been working for the past week to get the statue back up, and had finally gotten their permitting secured.
“Genuine shoutout and thanks to the [NPS] ranger we’ve been working with at the Parks Department,” the anonymous group member said. “They are a true believer in free speech in the face of a lot of noise.”
Hurrly90 on
FFS how do i post ifs to Reddit, Cos WOOOOSSSSSAAAAAA, Everyone just relax.
BeauBuffet on
I can’t wait for the one of Mike scrolling his grindr account on his phone!
Dunsparces on
I can give you the reasoning, article writer – it’s because Donald Trump is a pedophile.
SHoppe715 on
Because The Secret Handshake had a permit to put it up originally. It was removed illegally by park service employees likely at the direction of someone much higher up. Now that the park service is shut down and there’s nobody at work to remove it – for now – The Secret Handshake put it back up. Safe bet whoever ordered it taken down the first time will find someone to take it down again.
Or…plot twist…if it hadn’t yet been returned to The Secret Handshake, it’s also possible it was put back up by disgruntled furloughed park employees.
Suspicious-Insect-18 on
Release the files!
CrustyMFr on
Perfect! Given the government shutdown, I’m guessing they will have a hard time finding someone at NPS to take it down again. The creative ways they find to shoot themselves in the foot can make for pretty decent entertainment at times.
8 Comments
**Trump-Epstein statue returns to the National Mall**
*The group “The Secret Handshake” told WUSA9 the statue had been put back up on display Thursday, but a reasoning has not yet been given.*
https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/dc/trump-epstein-friendship-statue-back-national-mall/65-835f2613-1b56-47d1-b05a-facc64218d94
A statue that grabbed the attention of Washingtonians and tourists alike was back on full display on the National Mall Thursday, after being removed one week ago.
Colloquially referred to as the “Trump-Epstein friendship statue,” the installation depicted the president, Donald Trump, and the late disgraced financier and sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, holding hands and skipping. The creators of the project, who are part of the group “Secret Handshake,” said it was removed from the Mall on Sept. 24 by U.S. Park Police and the National Park Service, one day after it had gone up. The original permit said it was allowed to remain on the Mall until 8 p.m. Sept. 28, however, it included a clause that the permit could be revoked at any time as long as the permittee was notified of the reason at least 24 hours in advance.
Members of the “Secret Handshake” said they retrieved the statue, which had been broken, on Sept. 25 and spent hours putting it back together. With a new permit issued, they were hoping to get it back on the National Mall immediately, but said they hit a few roadblocks.
“We were told this permit was approved many times, but had not received it in person yet,” one member who asked to speak anonymously explained. “All of a sudden, everything changed. We were informed that the Deputy Director of the National Park Service had stepped in and overridden our approved permit to revoke it once again. No explanation was given as to why. We were also told the Deputy Director said to never issue us a permit ever again.”
WUSA9 was told the statue was back on the Mall as of 2:30 p.m. Thursday. We have reached out to NPS for comment, but have not yet heard back.
Group organizers said they had been working for the past week to get the statue back up, and had finally gotten their permitting secured.
“Genuine shoutout and thanks to the [NPS] ranger we’ve been working with at the Parks Department,” the anonymous group member said. “They are a true believer in free speech in the face of a lot of noise.”
FFS how do i post ifs to Reddit, Cos WOOOOSSSSSAAAAAA, Everyone just relax.
I can’t wait for the one of Mike scrolling his grindr account on his phone!
I can give you the reasoning, article writer – it’s because Donald Trump is a pedophile.
Because The Secret Handshake had a permit to put it up originally. It was removed illegally by park service employees likely at the direction of someone much higher up. Now that the park service is shut down and there’s nobody at work to remove it – for now – The Secret Handshake put it back up. Safe bet whoever ordered it taken down the first time will find someone to take it down again.
Or…plot twist…if it hadn’t yet been returned to The Secret Handshake, it’s also possible it was put back up by disgruntled furloughed park employees.
Release the files!
Perfect! Given the government shutdown, I’m guessing they will have a hard time finding someone at NPS to take it down again. The creative ways they find to shoot themselves in the foot can make for pretty decent entertainment at times.
Still besties.