LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A circuit court judge ruled the city of Louisville will not have to reinstall the controversial statue of John Breckenridge Castleman.

What You Need To Know

  • A judge sided with the city of Louisville after a group filed a motion to order them to reinstall the controversial Castleman statute in Cherokee Triangle

  • In April, the Friends of Louisville Public Art got a major win from the Kentucky Supreme Court, who ruled Louisville violated due process in removing the statue

  • The statue was vandalized several times over the years before it was removed from its pedestal in June 2020

  • After the ruling, a spokesperson for the city said they had no intention of reinstalling the statue

The plaintiffs in the case, a group called the Friends of Louisville Public Art, got a big win in April when the Supreme Court ruled Louisville violated due process by getting approval to remove the John Breckenridge Castleman monument from Cherokee Triangle. The group filed a new motion, asking the court to order the Landmarks Commission to reinstall the Castleman statue to its original location in Cherokee Triangle.

Judge Jennifer Wilcox sided with the defendants — Louisville Metro Government and the Historic Landmarks Commission — who argued reinstalling the statue would be “futile and a waste of taxpayer dollars.”

The ruling is the latest in a series of decisions revolving around the Castleman statue. The statue was vandalized several times before it was removed from its pedestal in June 2020, following a decision from Louisville’s landmarks commission.

Friends of Louisville Public Art sued challenging the landmarks commission ruling. They argued the statue was a local landmark and said some commission members should not have been allowed to vote because they have a conflict of interest.

While the group acknowledged Castleman’s Confederate ties, they argued that he later renounced his allegiance to the Confederacy. Castleman later served as a brigadier general in the U.S. Army. He was partially responsible for establishing Louisville’s park system and fought to keep the city’s parks and playgrounds open to Black residents.

Ultimately, the Kentucky Supreme Court agreed with the group, overturning decisions by two lower courts. Chief Justice Laurance B. VanMeter said it was a “patent” conflict for city employees to vote on the application to remove the monument.

After the ruling, a spokesperson with Mayor Craig Greenberg’s office said, “Louisville Metro Government has no plans to place the Castleman statue back in its original location nor any interest in doing so.” 

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