Edward Snowden bust illicitly mounted at NYC war monument

Artists installed this bust of Edward Snowden at the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument in Brooklyn on Apr. 6, 2015. Aymann Ismail/Animal New York

NEW YORK -- A monument has grown in Brooklyn.

CBS News New York reports that photos and video posted on AnimalNewYork.com show a massive bust of Edward Snowden has been illicitly erected on one of the four columns of the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument in Fort Greene.

According to the report, the sculpture weighs 100 pounds and was attached in a way that will make it easy to remove.

According to the report, the artists called the bust "Prison Ship Martyrs Monument 2.0."

"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 artists behind the installation told Animal New York. "All too often, figures who strive to uphold these ideals have been cast as criminals rather than in bronze."

The bust is made of a plaster-like substance called hydrocal. It took about six months and thousands of dollars to produce the bust, according to the report.

"We look at this as a gift to the city, but, you know, gifts are sometimes not accepted," one artist says in a video about the project.

The installation also includes Snowden's name at the base of the column.

The original Prison Ship's Martyrs Monument commemorates more than 11,500 men and women who died as captives aboard British prison ships during the Revolutionary War.

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Edward Snowden bust illicitly mounted at NYC war monument