Pelosi’s desk connected to Tiki torch statue in DC: NPR

It started with a poop desk.

Last week, an extraordinary bronze sculpture appeared on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.: a replica of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk, topped with her nameplate, landline phone, sticky notes, document folders and a perfectly twisted pile of feces, a poop emoji.

“This monument honors the brave men and women who broke into the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, to loot, urinate and defecate in these hallowed halls in an effort to overturn the election,” reads a plaque on the pedestal below.

It is unclear who made the sculpture and whether it is satirical in nature. Reuters reports that The National Park Service granted a one-week permit to a group called Civic Crafted LLC. Neither NPS nor the woman named in the permit responded to NPR’s requests for comment.

The installation is located directly in front of the building, which was stormed by supporters of former President Donald Trump on January 6, threatening the peaceful transfer of power and forcing the country’s leaders to panic.

Four people died at the Capitol that day. A Capitol Police officer who fought the rioters died the next day, and several other officers who were on duty died by suicide in the following months. The riot caused about $1.5 million in damage to the building, and members of Congress said some participants he urinated and defecated inside.

It appears that one of them was Francis Connor, a Brooklyn resident who belongs to the so-called over 1,500 people downloaded so far in connection with January 6.

“I was in the Capitol… and I pooped on my pelosis (sic!) desk” – Connor sent a message in a group chat a few days after the uprising, according to court papers. “Lock me up, there is no point in living if Trump is not in office.”

Was sentenced in September 2022 to 12 months in prison. Another rioter, an Arkansas resident, who was photographed resting his feet on the desk in Pelosi’s office was sentenced in 2023 to more than four years in prison.

Trump was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2023 for efforts to overturn the 2020 election and the special prosecutor’s investigation Jack Smith and the Chamber Commission January 6 concluded that his actions and rhetoric were responsible for the Capitol riot.

However, Trump downplayed the brutal attack – and his role in it – during his presence on the campaign trail, even calling January 6 “love day” at a Univision town hall earlier this month. He repeatedly spoke highly of the riot participants he said he would forgive me them in case of re-election.

“President Trump is remembering these January 6 heroes as ‘incredible patriots’ and ‘warriors,'” the poop memorial plaque reads. “This monument is a testament to their bold sacrifice and lasting legacy.”

Statue caused mixed reactions — and lots of photography — from passersby.

Jeff Parcells-Johnson, who biked to D.C. from Alexandria, Virginia, to see the statue, he told NPR he thinks it’s a “great juxtaposition to what Trump thinks” and just plain funny. Kristen Hartke, a trained artist and former D.C. resident who lived just a few blocks from the Capitol on Jan. 6, agrees.

“I think I would interpret the message as quite tongue-in-cheek, and that is clearly demonstrated by the artwork they have in this piece of art,” Hartke added.

The sculpture appears to have ruffled at least some of its feathers. Last weekend, just days after his arrival, people noticed Pelosi’s nameplate and some of the letters on it suddenly went missing.

Then another monument appeared on Monday.

There is a statue with a tiki torch near the White House

The new expansion debuted this week in Freedom Squarearea along Pennsylvania Avenue, just a few blocks from the White House.

The bronze-colored statue depicts a fist clutching a tiki torch – an object that took on additional symbolism after white nationalists carried it as they marched through Charlottesville, Virginia in “Unite the rightso in August 2017

The plaque on the sculpture titled “The Donald J. Trump Enduring Flame” refers to this event.

“This monument pays tribute to President Donald Trump and the ‘very good people’ he bravely defended during the march in Charlottesville, Virginia,” we read.

White supremacists marched through the University of Virginia campus at night, chanting, “Jews will not replace us.” The next day, they gathered downtown around a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, which the city had voted to remove. Clashes between marchers and counter-demonstrators quickly turned violent, prompting the governor to declare a state of emergency.

One demonstrator drove his car into the crowd, injuring dozens of people and killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer. Two state police officers who were monitoring the scene were killed in the helicopter crash.

Trump defended and downplayed the actions of white supremacists who marched that day, stating immediately afterwards that there were “very good people on both sides.” President Biden repeated many times on the 2020 campaign trail that it was this moment that pushed him to return to politics.

Like the poop statue, the tiki torch references Trump’s role in an episode in recent history that many consider shameful and that Democrats have tried to use against him as he runs for re-election.

“Even though many called them white supremacists and neo-Nazis, President Trump’s voice rose above the rest, reminding everyone that they had been ‘treated absolutely unfairly,’” the board read. “This monument is an eternal reminder of that bold proclamation.”

“Everstanding” may be a stretch. The Washington Post Office reports that the National Park Service’s permit for the tiki torch allows it to remain in place only until Thursday – a few days before Election Day.

NPR’s Mia Venkat contributed reporting.