Demonstrators in North Carolina have offered themselves up for arrest in protest of the charges against Takiyah Thompson, a young woman who helped tear down a Confederate statue.

Protesters swarmed the Durham County Sheriff's office on Thursday morning, dressed in black and singing about the “power of the people,” to demand the charges against Ms Thompson be dropped. At least 100 people had assembled by 9:30 am, according to a sheriff’s office employee.

In a letter to the sheriff and other local officials, the protest organisers declared themselves in “full solidarity with ... the brave anti-racist activists who took down the Confederate monument in Durham”. They also demanded the release of two other activists who they say were arrested outside Ms Thompson’s court hearing.

Durham County Sheriff Mike Andrews said in a statement that his department supports the right to peaceful assembly, and would work to ensure courthouse business continued as usual.

No one had been arrested in connection with the protest at the time of publication.

Ms Thompson was one of dozens of protesters who had rallied around a statue dedicated to “the boys who wore the grey” on Monday night. The statue memorialised Confederate soldiers who supported slavery and fought to preserve it.

Ms Thompson, who is black, climbed to the top of the Confederate statue on Monday and looped a rope around its neck. Together, the protesters pulled the 93-year-old memorial to the ground.

Police officers largely stood by as the activities progressed, and some even filmed the proceedings. But on Monday night, Mr Andrews announced his intention to arrest those involved.

“[T]he planned demonstration should serve as a sobering example of the price we all pay when civil disobedience is no longer civil,” he said in a statement. “...As the Sheriff, I am not blind to the offensive conduct of some demonstrators nor will I ignore their criminal conduct.”

Ms Thompson was arrested on Tuesday and charged with disorderly conduct, damage to real property, and felony inciting others to riot, among other things. She was released on Tuesday night on a $10,000 bond.

“I chose to [pull down the statue] because I am tired of living in fear,” she told reporters shortly before her arrest. “I am tired of white supremacy keeping its foot on my neck and the neck of people who look like me.”

Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Show all 9 1 /9 Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Protesters clash and several are injured White nationalist demonstrators clash with counter demonstrators at the entrance to Lee Park in Charlottesville, Virginia. A state of emergency is declared, August 12 2017 Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Trump supporters at the protest A white nationalist demonstrator walks into Lee Park in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017. Hundreds of people chanted, threw punches, hurled water bottles and unleashed chemical sprays on each other Saturday after violence erupted at a white nationalist rally in Virginia. AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville State police stand ready in riot gear Virginia State Police cordon off an area around the site where a car ran into a group of protesters after a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Militia armed with assault rifles White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' with body armor and combat weapons evacuate comrades who were pepper sprayed after the 'Unite the Right' rally was declared a unlawful gathering by Virginia State Police. Militia members marched through the city earlier in the day, armed with assault rifles. Getty Images Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Statue of Confederate General Robert E Lee The statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee stands behind a crowd of hundreds of white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' during the 'Unite the Right' rally 12 August 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. They are protesting the removal of the statue from Emancipation Park in the city. Getty Images Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Racial tensions sparked the violence White nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the 'alt-right' exchange insults with counter-protesters as they attempt to guard the entrance to Lee Park during the 'Unite the Right' rally Getty Violence on the streets of Charlottesville A car plows through protesters A vehicle drives into a group of protesters demonstrating against a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The incident resulted in multiple injuries, some life-threatening, and one death. AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville Rescue personnel help injured people after a car ran into a large group of protesters after an white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia AP Photo Violence on the streets of Charlottesville President Donald Trump speaks about the ongoing situation in Charlottesville, Virginia from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. He spoke about "loyalty" and "healing wounds" left by decades of racism.

The Monday night protest came as a response to a white nationalist rally in Virginia over the weekend. The rally – said to be the largest gathering of American white nationalists in decades – was organised to protest the removal of a Confederate statue in Charlottesville. One person died, and dozens were injured, in clashes with counter-protesters during the event.

The rally sparked calls to remove Confederate statues across the country. The mayor of Baltimore ordered the removal of four monuments, while the United Daughters of the Confederacy paid for the removal of another in Florida. The City Council in Lexington, Kentucky has unanimously approved a proposal to remove two statues from the city’s courthouse.

President Donald Trump, however has decried the removal of the Confederate monuments.