Hundreds of protesters gathered at the Silent Sam statue on the University of North Carolina's campus Monday evening (August 20) to knock down the Confederate monument.

The statue, which has been the focus of protests and vandalism for decades, was erected in 1913 with donations from the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

According to a statement from the university, about 250 protesters were present at the scene ahead of the new semester. Using rope, they took down the statue, then covered it with large signs and banners. Some threw dirt on the statue as if to bury it.

Those who called for the removal of Silent Sam said Monday night's protest was also in solidarity with Maya Little, the UNC graduate student who was facing expulsion from school and criminal charges for covering Silent Sam with paint and her own blood earlier this year.

On August 20, 2018 at 9:21 p.m. protestors and organizers pulled down the Confederate statue known as "Silent Sam." The statue had been the site of several protests in recent years, which intensified last year after the events in Charlottesville.