A protester kicks the toppled statue of a Confederate soldier after it was pulled down in Durham, N.C. Monday, Aug. 14, 2017. Activists on Monday evening used a rope to pull down the monument outside... (Associated Press) 
 
 DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Protesters in North Carolina toppled a nearly century-old statue of a Confederate soldier Monday at a rally against racism. 
 
 Activists in Durham brought a ladder up to the statue and used a rope to pull down the Confederate Soldiers Monument that was dedicated in 1924. A diverse crowd of dozens cheered as the statue of a soldier holding a rifle fell to the ground in front of an old courthouse building that now houses local government offices. 
 
 Seconds after the monument fell, protesters began kicking the crumpled bronze monument. 
 
 "I was a little bit shocked people could come here and come together like that," said Isaiah Wallace, who is black. 
 
 Wallace said he watched as others toppled the statue. He hopes other Confederate symbols elsewhere will follow. 
 
 "I feel like this is going to send shockwaves through the country and hopefully they can bring down other racist symbols," he said. 
 
 The Durham protest was in response to a white nationalist rally held in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend. Authorities say one woman was killed Saturday after one of the white nationalists drove his car into a group of peaceful counter-protesters. 
 
 Although the violence in Virginia has prompted fresh talk by government officials about bringing down symbols of the Confederacy around the South, North Carolina has a law protecting them. The 2015 law prevents removing such monuments on public property without permission from state officials. 
 
 In response to the statue in Durham being torn down, Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper tweeted: "The racism and deadly violence in Charlottesville is unacceptable but there is a better way to remove these monuments." 
 
 After the statue fell, several dozen protesters congregated on the street in front of the old courthouse. Some took pictures standing or sitting on the toppled soldier, in front of a pedestal inscribed with the words "In Memory of the Boys Who Wore The Gray." Police cruisers blocked off the street, and officers looked on — some filming. As it got dark, rally participants began to peacefully disperse. 
 
 Robin Williamson, who works downtown, arrived in the area about an hour after the statue came down. Williamson, who is black, said he can sympathize with people who are upset with the state of racial discourse in the country. 
 
 "People feel that with Donald Trump as leader, racists can be vocal," he said. 
 
 He said that while Confederate monuments have been defaced in other cities, it was surprising to see an entire statue brought down by protesters. 
 
 "This is a little bit more intense because they took the whole statue down," he said. 
 
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 Follow Drew at www.twitter.com/jonldrew ||||| A protest in downtown Durham on Monday night left a statue of a Confederate soldier erected nearly a century ago crumpled on the ground. 
 
 Sheriff’s deputies recorded the event but did not intervene as a protester climbed a ladder and slipped a yellow, bungie-like cord around the soldier’s head and arm and a group pulled the cord. 
 
 The statue did a somersault, collapsing against the stone pedestal in front of the old county courthouse on East Main Street. 
 
 Protesters cheered and started to kick the crumpled mass. 
 
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 Gov. Roy Cooper criticized the action, tweeting that “the racism and deadly violence in Charlottesville is unacceptable but there is a better way to remove these monuments.” 
 
 Monday’s rally, the second in Durham in two days, began around 6 p.m. as more than 50 people gathered in front of the now county administration building chanting, sharing their experiences in Charlottesville, Virginia, and demanding that people fight racism in their communities and across the South. 
 
 “Tactics are changing, which means that our strategies need to change, our unity needs to escalate and our demands to fight back and resist domestic terror needs to escalate,” said Eva Panjwani with the Workers World Party Durham. 
 
 As the crowd swelled to more than 100 people, the protesters circled the statue of the soldier holding a muzzle-loading rifle and chanted “No Trump! No KKK! No fascist USA!” 
 
 Groups at the rally included members of the Triangle People’s Assembly, Workers World Party, Industrial Workers of the World, Democratic Socialists of America and the antifa movement. 
 
 “This is a really an opportunity, this moment of Charlottesville to see what side of history we are choosing to side with,” Panjwani said. “This is not a call to make someone to feel guilty or ashamed. This is a call to say this is an ask from people of color to say which side are you on.” 
 
 Conversations about loving your neighbor have not worked, she said. 
 
 Alissa Ellis, of the Workers World Party Durham branch that was a participant in the Charlottesville protest, said people need to embrace multiple tactics because that is what kept her safe. 
 
 “We need to shun passive, white liberalism” that elevates whites voices over black and brown voices, she said. 
 
 Others called for all Confederate statues across the South to come down, including Silent Sam on the UNC Chapel Hill campus. 
 
 Durham County sent out a statement at 12:23 a.m. that said local elected officials and senior staff understand the unrest in the nation and community, particularly following the senseless acts that took place in Charlottesville. 
 
 “We share the sentiments of many communities around the nation that admonish hate and acts of violence as we believe civility is necessary in our every action and response,” the statement said. “Governmental agencies dedicated to public safety will continue to work collectively to ensure Durham remains a community of excellence where all of our residents can live peacefully, grow and thrive.” 
 
 Stopping traffic 
 
 After the Durham statue was pulled down, protesters walked down East Main Street and blocked the intersection at South Roxboro Street, some holding hands in the middle of the broad intersection. 
 
 After about five minutes, the group left the intersection and continued to walk down Main Street on the sidewalk. They stopped at the construction site of the new Durham Police Department headquarters. 
 
 Police blocked traffic and accompanied the group as members walked down the streets. No arrests were made, the department said Monday night. Durham County Sheriff’s Office has jurisdiction over all county buildings and landmarks, it said. 
 
 The line of protesters walked back to the old courthouse. Some took photographs with the fallen statue. Sheriff’s officials continued to take video. 
 
 Isaiah Wallace, 26, of Durham, accompanied the protesters carrying and playing a guitar. 
 
 Watching the statue fall “was awesome,” he said. 
 
 “It’s going to send shock waves through the country, all the rest of the racist monuments and symbols can get town down also,” he said. 
 
 Some of the protesters started to yell at sheriff’s officials standing on the steps of the old courthouse recording, and then Durham police officers blocking the street. 
 
 Pierre Faulkner waved a sign in front of them that said “cops and clan go hand in hand” on one side and “Black Lives Matter smash white supremacy” on the other. 
 
 “If y’all aren’t going to help us, we are going to help each other,” said Faulkner, 27, a student at Durham Technical Community College. “You understand that. Do you understand that? You look like you voted for Donald Trump.” 
 
 At 8:26 p.m., a law enforcement official told protesters to disperse. “Leave the street. Leave the area right now. Leave the property of the county right now,” he said. 
 
 A small group continued to follow Faulkner down Main Street. He stopped on the corner of Corcoran and Main streets, and people then started to go their separate ways around 8:34 p.m. 
 
 Faulkner said all he wants is for their voice to be heard. 
 
 “The message that they are trying to explain to these police is it doesn’t matter about your skin color. Everybody is one person. Everybody should be treated equally,” he said. “They’re standing out here with guns and bullet proof vests. We have no weapons. This is a peaceful protest. All we want is our voice to be heard.” 
 
 More information sought 
 
 Earlier Monday County Commissioners Chairwoman Wendy Jacobs said she had asked county staff to start researching the history of the Main Street monument and state legislation regarding Cconfederate monuments. 
 
 “We don’t even have basic information about the history of the statue,” she said. “We don’t know anything about what the current laws are.” 
 
 “The first step of any conversation is understanding what the facts are,” she said. 
 
 Protesters pulled down this 15-foot-tall statue of a Confederate soldier Monday night, Aug. 14, 2017, on East Main Street in downtown Durham. Durham citizens erected and dedicated the statue on May 10, 1924, in memory of “the boys who wore the gray.” News & Observer File photo 
 
 In 2015, the General Assembly passed a law preventing state agencies and local governments from taking down any “object of remembrance” on public property that “commemorates an event, a person, or military service that is part of North Carolina’s history.” 
 
 A state law would be needed to remove a monument or relocate one to a site that’s not of “similar prominence.” 
 
 A person who damages or destroys public property can be charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor under state law, and if convicted, can receive a fine of $500 and 24 hours of community service. 
 
 The granite base on the Main Street soldier, which was dedicated in 1924, says, “In memory of ‘the boys who wore the gray.” 
 
 There are about 120 Civil War memorials across the state, according to the Division of State Historic Sites and Properties. 
 
 About a dozen are dedicated to Union soldiers, and others honor soldiers in a number of wars. About 100 are clearly monuments related to the Confederacy. The monuments are in cemeteries and on public and private properties. ||||| Police stand guard after the confederate statue known as Silent Sam was toppled by protesters on campus at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., Monday, Aug. 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Gerry... (Associated Press) 
 
 Police stand guard after the confederate statue known as Silent Sam was toppled by protesters on campus at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., Monday, Aug. 20, 2018. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) (Associated Press) 
 
 CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Leaders of North Carolina's university system spoke out Tuesday to condemn the toppling of a century-old Confederate memorial on the state's flagship campus by protesters who decried racist motives for its placement on campus dating to a dedication speech praising violence against former slaves. 
 
 The University of North Carolina system's president and the chairman of the Board of Governors promised a full criminal investigation of the Monday night protest that brought down the statue known as "Silent Sam." The bronze figure of an anonymous rebel soldier was pulled down from its tall stone pedestal by protesters using ropes and banners to mask their action. 
 
 "The safety and security of our students, faculty, and staff is paramount," President Margaret Spellings and board chairman Harry Smith said in a statement Tuesday. "And the actions last evening were unacceptable, dangerous, and incomprehensible. We are a nation of laws_and mob rule and the intentional destruction of public property will not be tolerated." 
 
 The statue, erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1913, had been under constant police surveillance after being vandalized in recent months, costing the university hundreds of thousands of dollars. 
 
 Protesters appeared to outwit officers with coordinated tactics that started with the raising of four tall black banners on bamboo poles, along with more banners on the ground, concealing efforts to tie a rope around it. They then split into two groups, with most marching away from the statue to distract from as small group remaining behind. The banners were up for about an hour before the groups converged and yanked the statue down, according to videos. 
 
 Silent Sam's century-long presence in the center of a main quadrangle ended around midnight after workers covered it with a tarp, lifted it with a backhoe and put it into the back of a truck for a trip to an undisclosed storage location. 
 
 House Speaker Tim Moore also criticized the protesters, saying they should be arrested and prosecuted "to make clear that mob rule and acts of violence will not be tolerated in our state." 
 
 Their statements were stronger than that of Chancellor Carol Folt, who didn't call for arrests and charges in her comment Monday night. 
 
 Instead, she described the protesters' actions as unlawful and dangerous, while acknowledging that the "monument has been divisive for years, and its presence has been a source of frustration for many people." 
 
 Once the statue fell, "Silent Sam's" face down in the dirt, demonstrators kicked it and cheered, chanting "Tar Heels!" and "Whose Campus? Our Campus!" as passing cars honked in approval. 
 
 Many students, faculty and alumni argued that "Silent Sam" symbolized racism and asked officials to take it down. Protesters responded to the assertion that the statue wasn't a symbol of white power by reading from its 1913 dedication speech , by tobacco magnate Julian Carr, which praises Confederate veterans for terrorizing former slaves and making sure "the purest strain of the Anglo Saxon is to be found in the 13 Southern States." 
 
 Two friends who have proteseted against "Silent Sam" for years, C.J. Suitte and Will McInerney, said Tuesday they wonder if UNC will return the statue to its still-standing pedestal. 
 
 "People have been protesting the statues since the 50s and 60s and it always finds a way to come back. People find a way to defend it," said Suitte, a Chapel Hill resident. "It feels a little surreal. I feel excited but I also feel like — alright, how long is it going to be before they bring the crane in and put him back?" 
 
 North Carolina ranks among the handful of Southern states with the most Confederate monuments , and has been a focal point in the national debate over them following a deadly white nationalist protest a year ago in Charlottesville, Virginia . 
 
 Protests over the UNC statue flared in the past year, and another Confederate monument in nearby Durham was torn down by protesters shortly after the Virginia rally. 
 
 Gov. Roy Cooper had called for removing "Silent Sam" and other rebel symbols on public land. A state historic panel is set to meet Wednesday to debate Cooper's request to remove other Confederate monuments at the state Capitol. 
 
 Still, the Democratic governor issued a statement on Twitter on Monday night arguing the protesters took the wrong approach. 
 
 "The Governor understands that many people are frustrated by the pace of change and he shares their frustration, but violent destruction of public property has no place in our communities," said the tweet from his official account. 
 
 Campus police referred questions to the university's media relations department, which declined to answer questions Tuesday. 
 
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 Associated Press writer Alexander Derosier contributed to this report. 
 
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 Follow Drew on Twitter at www.twitter.com/JonathanLDrew
– Protesters gathered in North Carolina tore down a 97-year-old Confederate statue in front of a cheering crowd of more than 100 people Monday. Activists used a ladder to put a rope around the statue's neck before a group of people pulled it to the ground, the News & Observer reports. Protesters, who had gathered outside the old courthouse building in Durham in response to the weekend violence in Charlottesville, then kicked and spat on the statue. The bronze statue of a soldier holding a muzzleloading rifle was erected in 1924, with the words "In Memory of the Boys Who Wore the Gray" engraved on the pillar, reports CNN. Police officers filmed the toppling of the statue. No arrests were made, though North Carolina brought in a law in 2015 banning the removal of monuments to the Confederacy from public property without permission from state officials, the AP reports. Police say they didn't arrest anybody because the toppling took place on county property. "The racism and deadly violence in Charlottesville is unacceptable, but there is a better way to remove these monuments," tweeted Gov. Roy Cooper. Protesters called for the removal of other monuments to the Confederacy, including the "Silent Sam" statue on the University of North Carolina's Chapel Hill campus.