Protesters Who Toppled Durham Civil War Statue Face Charges: Durham Sheriff

CHARLOTTE, NC -- Protesters who toppled a civil war monument in Durham Monday evening will face criminal charges for the statue’s vandalism, according to the Durham County Sheriff.

Sheriff's deputies were reportedly on hand to watch — and videotape — as a group of angry anti-fascism activists toppled a century-old statue of a Confederate soldier outside the Durham County Courthouse on Monday evening.

The mob looped a yellow rope around the statue's neck and pulled it down, then surrounded the felled soldier — now bent at its knees — while shouting at it and beating it with their hands and feet, according to video reports from the scene. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news in Charlotte — or other neighborhoods. And iPhone users: Check out Patch's new app.)

“No KKK! No fascist USA!" the crowd chanted as the statue came down.

The emotional scene in Durham played out in the aftermath of a white-power demonstration in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend that ended in the death of anti-fascism activist Heather Heyer and two state troopers.

According to local news site WRAL, "several men" at Monday's 6 p.m. protest in Durham "used a ladder to reach the top of statue, which had been sprayed with cooking spray by authorities to make it more difficult to climb."

WATCH: N.C. Protesters Bring Down Confederate Statue

Reaction to the vandalism was swift and widespread, starting with reaction from the state's top elected official.

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper denounced the statue’s vandalism in a tweet, saying “The racism and deadly violence in Charlottesville is unacceptable but there is a better way to remove these monuments.”

WATCH: Durham Residents Weigh Confederate Statues Toppling

Patch Editor Simone Wilson contributed to this article.

Screenshot via Twitter

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