diff --git a/src/libxrpl/ledger/ApplyView.cpp b/src/libxrpl/ledger/ApplyView.cpp
index 19dfd199f9..086fb7187e 100644
--- a/src/libxrpl/ledger/ApplyView.cpp
+++ b/src/libxrpl/ledger/ApplyView.cpp
@@ -191,6 +191,7 @@ ApplyView::dirRemove(
     uint256 const& key,
     bool keepRoot)
 {
+    keepRoot = false;
     auto node = peek(keylet::page(directory, page));
 
     if (!node)