Four people turned themselves into authorities in Durham, North Carolina, on Thursday to face charges for their role in toppling a Confederate monument during a protest on Monday. Those people, however, were not alone as they were joined by hundreds of other protesters, many of whom even tried to turn themselves in as well.

Jillian Johnson, a member of Durham's city council who attended Thursday's demonstration, told HuffPost around 200 people gathered in total, and about 50 of them attempted to turn themselves in. Those seeking arrest did so in solidarity, and in some cases, because they were actually present Monday when the statue of the armed soldier in Confederate uniform came tumbling down.

Deputies declined to arrest any of the volunteers, however, and blocked the crowd from entering the jail, and the courtroom, citing fire safety issues.

The four arrested were Peter Gilbert, Dante Strobino, Takiyah Thompson, and Ngoc Tran. They were each charged with two misdemeanors and two felonies, shocking many demonstrators.

Prosecutors claim Monday’s protest was, in fact, a riot, and say the statue was worth more than $1,500, thus justifying felony charges.

“I am not blind to the offensive conduct of some demonstrators nor will I ignore their criminal conduct,” Durham County Sheriff Mike Andrews said Tuesday, pledging to “find the people responsible.”

As for Johnson, she said she has no problem with Confederate monuments being removed. She noted, most of the statues were erected several decades after the Civil War during the implementation of Jim Crow laws, and again during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

“The history of these monuments, specifically when and why they were created, tells us clearly that they weren’t intended to commemorate the history of the Confederacy,” she said, “but rather to send a message of white supremacy and intimidation to black people during Jim Crow. There is no way to keep these statues in public spaces without continuing to send that message.”

Source: huffingtonpost.com