The New York City police department says its Intelligence Division is investigating a giant sculpture of National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden that was installed in a Brooklyn park early Monday morning.
A group of unidentified artists wearing yellow construction vests erected the 100-pound, bronze patina bust atop a stone column at the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument in Fort Greene Park before dawn Monday. On the bottom of the column, capital letters spell out Snowden’s name in a font similar to one often used on war memorials.The artists, with the condition that they wouldn’t be identified,
allowed Animal New York to tag along and film the covert installation of what they call “Prison Ship Martyrs Monument 2.0.”“Fort Greene’s Prison Ship Martyrs Monument is a memorial to American POWs who lost their lives during the Revolutionary War,” the group told Animal in a statement. “We have updated this monument to highlight those who sacrifice their safety in the fight against modern-day tyrannies. It would be a dishonor to those memorialized here to not laud those who protect the ideals they fought for, as Edward Snowden has by bringing the NSA’s 4th-Amendment-violating surveillance programs to light. All too often, figures who strive to uphold these ideals have been cast as criminals rather than in bronze.”(For more on the artists that erected the statue, head over to
Animal New York.)
Mashable reports that as of 11:55 a.m. Monday morning, the “Snowden” part of the monument had been removed by the Parks Department, and a video posted to Vine at 12:12 p.m. shows unidentified officials placing a tarp over the sculpture.
