A group of artists secretly installed a 100-pound bust of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden on top of a Revolutionary War memorial in a New York City park early Monday.

Three activists wearing yellow reflector vests and hard hats sneaked into Brooklyn’s Fort Greene Park just before dawn and fused the bust to part of the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument, a memorial which honors soldiers imprisoned in the Revolutionary War, The Hill reported.

The word “Snowden” was also attached to the bottom of the memorial.

In a statement provided to city blog Animal, which exclusively documented the sculpture’s installation on condition of anonymity, the activists said their goal was to “bring a renewed vitality to the space and prompt even more visitors to ponder the sacrifices made for their freedoms.”

“Fort Greene’s Prison Ship Martyrs Monument is a memorial to American POWs who lost their lives during the Revolutionary War. We have updated this monument to highlight those who sacrifice their safety in the fight against modern-day tyrannies,” the statement said. “It would be a dishonor to those memorialized here to not laud those who protect the ideals they fought for, as Edward Snowden has by bringing the NSA’s 4th-Amendment-violating surveillance programs to light.”

The blog reported that the bust remained intact by 11:03 a.m. press time.

City workers were eventually sent to the sculpture, which was to be removed sometime Monday, city officials told a local NBC affiliate.

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