An anonymous decided to pay a tribute to the man who put his life at stake in order to reveal the truth

Apr 7, 2015 08:23 GMT  ·  By

Those who took their morning walk in the Fort Greene Park on Monday might have been a bit taken aback to see that a 100-pound bust had made its appearance overnight on the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument.

Not that this would be extremely out of the ordinary, but people might have had their doubts about who the bust belonged to. However, the police soon took notice of the existence of the illegal display and decided to take it down.

Those who failed to recognize the figure would soon find out that it belonged to none other than notorious Edward Snowden, the computer professional who leaked classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) to the media.

The artists consider him a worthy personality

The artists who came up with the idea preferred to remain anonymous, the Animal New York reported, but they did make some statements about their intentions.

They declared that they had “updated this monument to highlight those who sacrifice their safety in the fight against modern-day tyrannies."

It seems that their actions were a protest against the injustice that Edward Snowden has had to endure for having unveiled the NSA surveillance program to the world. They also stated they would like him to be regarded as a national hero rather than a criminal.

They see no need for the whistleblower to remain in exile, when he has done no harm. On the contrary, they seem to be deeply annoyed by the fact that the man who has done so much for his fellow citizens has to fear for his safety, while no considerable changes have taken place within the NSA.

The bust has since then been removed by the authorities, to the artists’ dissatisfaction. But they probably saw it coming as no one was expecting for the sculpture to last very long on the monument given the controversy surrounding the person it represented.

The materials for the sculpture were reportedly pretty expensive; Animal New York stated that Edward Snowden’s supporters might have had to take a few thousand dollars out of their pockets for the bust. However, when it’s all for a great cause, money matters less.