Green Bay Reporter

Abolitionist and Union Army Colonel Hans Christian Heg, whose statue at the state Capitol was torn down by rioters in June 2020 and restored earlier this week, fought to end slavery, a Wisconsin First Congressional District representative said in a social media post.

It was about time his statue was restored to its pedestal, U.S. House Rep. Bryan Steil said in a Twitter post.

"Col. Heg’s statue has finally been replaced," Steil said in his Tuesday, Sept. 21 Twitter post. "Last summer, rioters in Madison toppled his statue and threw it in the lake. Union Army Col. Heg lost his life fighting to end slavery. Glad to see that this hero from Southeast Wisconsin is once again honored at our state Capitol."

Toppling of Heg's statue was part of a protest in June 2020 that started after the arrest of a black activist who had been protesting outside a local tavern. Rioting protesters toppled the Heg and Forward statues at the state Capitol the the night of June 23, 2020.

Heg was a Norwegian immigrant who settled in Wisconsin in about 1840 who went on to be an avid abolitionist, leading a militia group who helped slaves escape to freedom. He fought for the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War and was wounded during the Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863. He died the day after the battle. He was 33.

Heg's abolitionist sympathies bought his statue no credit with the 200-300 rioters who commandeered a towing vehicle, tore down the statue, beheaded it, dragged it down a street and ultimately tossed it into Lake Monona.

Protesters told Channel 3000 at the time that they pulled down the anti-slavery Heg's statue because they didn't feel the state is moving forward.

"We're not moving forward, we're moving backwards," Ebony Anderson-Carter said in the June 24, 2020 news story. "This (statue) doesn't need to be here until we're ready to move forward."

Anderson-Carter said in the news story that she and other protesters wanted something done about racial injustice in Wisconsin, something that would speak with the state’s black youth.

"The Capitol is where we solve problems, and nobody's coming here to solve problems," Anderson-Carter said in the news story.

Later in the summer, Steil issued a statement honoring Heg's memory.

"Colonel Heg had deep roots in Southeast Wisconsin," Steil said in an Aug. 3, 2020 statement. "The pride and respect for Col. Heg is evident throughout the Town of Norway and greater area. Col. Heg was an abolitionist, an immigrant and military leader who died fighting to end slavery. While Col. Heg may have been Norwegian by birth, we are proud to claim him as one of our own. Ignorance is dangerous and we will not allow future generations of Wisconsinites to forget the sacrifice and service of Col. Heg."

Restoration of both statues cost more than $80,000, ABC 2 reported earlier this week.