Protesters bring down confederate statue in Durham

The Confederate Soldiers Monument in Durham, North Carolina, was toppled Monday evening by protesters chanting "No KKK, no fascist USA." They cheered and kicked the statue when it hit the ground.

The statue was dedicated in 1924 "in memory of the boys who wore grey," and it stood outside a government building. On Monday, a woman climbed a ladder to the top of the statue, put a rope around it, and then members of the crowd pulled until it fell, Time reports. The protesters then marched down Main Street, chanting, "I believe that we will win."

A Durham County spokesperson told WNCN that because the statue was on county property, it won't be easy for it to be permanently removed. "Due to a North Carolina state law passed a few years ago, Durham County is prohibited from removing or making substantive alteration to historic monuments and memorials," Dawn Dudley said. Gov. Roy Cooper (D) later tweeted, "The racism and deadly violence in Charlottesville is unacceptable but there is a better way to remove these monuments."

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