Parks Department removes giant Edward Snowden bust from Fort Greene Park

Love him or hate him, Edward Snowden is not going away any time soon – though the giant, 100-pound sculpture of him in Fort Greene Park did.

Artists paid homage to Snowden, who was prominently featured on John Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight” on Sunday, with a huge bronze bust that they placed on a war memorial. The Parks Department removed the 4-foot tall sculpture on Monday, reports NBC.

Animal New York reports that three artists and their helpers are responsible for installing the bust of the NSA whistleblower; they fused it to the war memorial early Monday morning and used an adhesive that would not damage the original memorial.

They said though Snowden probably would not approve of the bust, they thought it was important to laud Snowden for his accomplishments.

The artists wrote in a statement:

“Fort Greene’s Prison Ship Martyrs Monument is a memorial to American POWs who lost their lives during the Revolutionary War. 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.”

NYPD told NBC that they are looking for DNA and other clues in order to find the artists.