Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth backed up his decision to return a Confederate monument to Arlington National Cemetery removed by “the woke lemmings” who have erased Confederate symbols from American culture. The Reconciliation Monument, a memorial to the Confederacy, was removed from Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia in 2023.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has vowed not to back down from celebrating America’s “proud” Confederate history. “We recognize our history,” Hegseth told Fox News host Will Cain on Thursday. “We don’t erase it.

The memorial was removed in 2023 at the recommendation of a commission appointed by Congress to rid the military of Confederate symbols and names.