SOUTH DAKOTA—South Dakota Governor Kristi Noemi stated that Mount Rushmore would not be the subject to being taken down or vandalized via a Twitter response on Tuesday, June 23, in light of other historical monuments nationwide being destroyed by social justice reformists.
Noemi made the brief statement in response to political commentator Ben Shapiro tweeting the question: “So, when is our woke historical revisionist priesthood going to insist on blowing up Mount Rushmore?”
Noemi retweeted the post summarizing her position in four-easy words: “Not on my watch.”
Governor Noemi in an interview with Fox and Friends on June 24 assured that the mountain that bears the faces of four former United States Presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt, would be preserved and protected from such treatment.
“This is a national monument. The more we focus on the flaws of these men who are on our mountain, the less likely we are to recognize the virtues and the lessons we can learn from their lives,” Noemi told Fox and Friends.
There has been no significant push to remove the monument, but there have been rumblings on social media that threaten the historical figures.
Noemi’s ideology falls in line with President Donald Trump’s position on the preservation of national monuments, who seeks to punish anyone who defaces federal property.
“I have authorized the Federal Government to arrest anyone who vandalizes or destroys any monument, statue, or other such Federal property in the U.S. with up to 10 years in prison, per the Veteran’s Memorial Preservation Act, or such other laws that may be pertinent. This action is taken effective immediately, but may also be used retroactively for destruction or vandalism already caused. There will be no exceptions!” President Trump tweeted.
President Trump has planned a visit to Mount Rushmore National Memorial on Friday, July 3 that will also feature a firework show and fighter jets flying overhead.
Mount Rushmore sits on land that’s surrounded by 1,200 acres of forest. There are environmental concerns due to the massive display, but National Park officials confirmed that the event can be done with no harm to the environment, according to an article by the Washington Post.
In place of the POTUS visit, Native Americans plan to protest against the event at the start of the holiday weekend as the monument sits on the South Dakota’s Black Hills – a former Sioux tribe territory that was taken by the federal government in the late 1800s.
