The Trump administration has transformed a D.C. plaza known as a hotspot of leftist protests into a forum for celebrating one of the too-often-forgotten Founding Fathers and Revolutionary War soldiers.
Freedom Plaza received its current name in 1988 as a tribute to civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. While MLK was personally corrupt, his cause was an excellent and laudable one. That cannot be said of many of the activists who followed in more recent years and transformed the plaza into a scene of chaos and lawlessness to support far-left causes — especially the BLM rioters in 2020.
Freedom Plaza is gearing up for the 4th of July! pic.twitter.com/rfkkxuquyt
— Secretary Doug Burgum (@SecretaryBurgum) June 2, 2026
Not too long ago, activists were screaming their support for serial criminal George Floyd in the plaza. Now, heading into America’s 250th birthday, Freedom Plaza features 13 statues honoring our founding. The number 13 seems to be a tribute to the original 13 colonies. “This exhibition featuring Caesar Rodney and the 12 Soldiers of the Revolutionary War is a powerful tribute to the patriots whose service and sacrifice helped secure the freedoms we enjoy today,” Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Doug Burgum told Fox News.
For the full story of Caesar Rodney and his midnight ride that guaranteed American independence, read my previous article. You might remember that the Continental Congress actually voted for independence on July 2, though they did not agree on the exact draft for their declaration until July 4, which is why that is considered our national birthday. But on July 1, it seemed as if independence might not happen at all. The independence coalition, which included John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin, needed Delaware’s vote, and when it came to the proposal from Virginian Richard Henry Lee that “these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states,” the two Delaware delegates in Philadelphia at the time (Thomas McKean and George Read) disagreed with each other.
Rodney, who was a militia colonel as well as a delegate to Congress, was in Delaware when he found out about the situation in Philadelphia. Despite suffering from more than one medical condition at the time, Rodney mounted a horse and rode for 18 hours straight through the night and miserably rainy weather so he would arrive in Philadelphia in time to break his state delegation’s deadlock and vote for independence. The statue in Freedom Plaza shows Rodney on horseback as he made his history-shaping gallop.
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Below is a clip that includes Rodney’s arrival at the Continental Congress as shown in the semi-fictionalized historical musical “1776.”
Despite his magnificent and historic dash to Philadelphia to ensure independence, and his later fighting actively against the British during the Revolution, many Americans in the modern era have almost forgotten Caesar Rodney. The statue display in Freedom Plaza is long overdue recognition for the absolutely essential part that Rodney played in the birth of our nation.
For 250 years ago, America’s chance for existence was riding with Caesar Rodney through thunder and rain, and the clatter of hooves on the cobblestones as Rodney arrived in Philadelphia was the herald for our national independence.
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