Edward Snowden busted: Artists erect shortlived tribute to NSA whistleblower in New York park
The 1.2-metre-high, 45kg sculpted bust of the whistleblower was sneaked into Brooklyn’s Fort Greene Park on Monday before dawn. The real Snowden remains in self-imposed exile in Russia.
Suddenly, in the middle of the New York night, Edward Snowden appeared - deep in a public park. The 1.2-metre-high, 45kg sculpted bust of the whistleblower was sneaked into Brooklyn's Fort Greene Park on Monday before dawn. The real Snowden remains in self-imposed exile in Russia.
Animal New York, a city news website that first reported the incident, said the mysterious perpetrators were a small group of artists - admirers of the former contractor who leaked classified information from the National Security Agency to the media.
They hoisted the bust to the top of a Revolutionary War memorial, adding his name to a column, according to Animal New York. The website says the group allowed it to document installation of the statue on the condition that it not reveal the identities of the artists.
Snowden's artistic appearance was short-lived.
At daybreak, police said city parks officials ordered Snowden removed. The sculpture was covered up with a tarpaulin by two park officials before noon. And by evening, the bust was being held at Brooklyn's 88th Precinct pending an investigation.
The artists said they had "updated" the memorial to American POWs who died during the Revolutionary War "to highlight those who sacrifice their safety in the fight against modern-day tyrannies. It would be a dishonour to those memorialised here to not laud those who protect the ideals they fought for".