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. In response to the statue in Durham being torn down, Democratic North Carolina 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. 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. Police blocked traffic and accompanied the group as members walked down the streets. After the statue fell, several dozen protesters congregated on the street in front of the old courthouse. "This is a little bit more intense because they took the whole statue down," 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. You look like you voted for Donald Trump.” 
 
 At 8:26 p.m., a law enforcement official told protesters to disperse. A small group continued to follow Faulkner down Main Street. Authorities say one woman was killed Saturday after one of the white nationalists drove his car into a group of peaceful counter-protesters. Protesters pulled down this 15-foot-tall statue of a Confederate soldier Monday night, Aug. 14, 2017, on East Main Street in downtown Durham. 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. The 2015 law prevents removing such monuments on public property without permission from state officials.
– 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.