Police are holding an armed man near a monument to Robert E. Lee in Virginia

Protesters in Washington DC tore down a statue of Confederate General Albert Pike on Friday, according to a report by CNN WJLA members.

The statue stood in the city’s justice district.

The video showed the monument thrashing with yellow ropes around it, before it fell to the ground around 11.15am. ET.

A few minutes later the statue was seen lying in the grass, burnt and covered with graffiti. Protesters took turns adding items to the fire as the statue burned.

“It’s almost a sign of equality. Now we’re back to our freedom and our rights. We symbolize the people you know, they stand up for us, they stand up for our culture, not for things that were brought to America and seen as hate.” ” one protester at the scene told the WJLA.

Police officers were at the scene but did not attempt to arrest any protesters.

CNN contacted the Columbia District Metropolitan Police Department for comment.

Donald Trump he sharply criticized DC police for the demonstrations.

“D.C. police are not doing their job as they watch the statue collapse and burn,” the U.S. president wrote on Twitter.

“Those people should be arrested immediately. Shame on our country!”

Pike was India’s confederation commissioner and military commander of Indian territory during the U.S. Civil War, according to Oklahoma Historical Society.

Confederate monuments became the focus of the Black Lives Matter protests. A 30-foot obelisk in the Atlanta suburb of Decatur was also removed just before midnight on Thursday, after a judge ordered its removal.