Durham removes heart placed atop Confederate monument

DURHAM, North Carolina (WTVD) -- More than a week after protesters toppled a Confederate statue outside the old courthouse in downtown Durham, a new addition was added to the monument overnight.

A heart, made of metal, was added between late Wednesday night and early Thursday morning to the pedestal that was for the now crumpled statue of a Confederate soldier holding a rifle.

RELATED: Durham protesters pull down Confederate statue outside courthouse

Later Thursday morning, officials took down the addition.

The statue on East Main Street went up nearly a century ago, dedicated "in memory of the boys who wore the gray."

A heart, made of metal, was added overnight to the pedestal that was for the now crumpled Confederate statue outside the old courthouse on East Main Street in downtown Durham.

ABC11 Photojournalist Jim Schumacher

No word on the mysterious artist or who placed the heart.

On Aug 14, as a crowd of protesters approached the monument, climbing it and attaching a yellow nylon rope around it. The protesters then pulled until the soldier came crashing to the ground.

Seconds after the monument fell, protesters began kicking the crumpled bronze statue.

A total of eight have been charged in connection with the incident. More arrests are expected.

8 now charged in destruction of Confederate statue in Durham