After more than 150 years in the Santa Fe Plaza, Monday night a controversial monument no longer stands; It comes after three days of protests. Two men were arrested in connection to the toppling of the obelisk, KOB 4 reported.

The two men arrested were Sean Sunderland, 24, who is charged with resisting and criminal trespass, and Dylan Wrobel, 27, who is charged with battery on a peace officer and resisting an officer. Monday night, Mayor Alan Webber condemned the incident in the Plaza saying “there is no place for people taking the law into their own hands and there is no place for people destroying historic monuments on their own.”

City workers were constructing a barrier around it Monday to protect it but protestors managed to wrap ropes around it and rip it down. Video from the Santa Fe New Mexican shows no police on-site as protestors took over.

Witnesses told the New Mexican that police were there earlier in the day to forcibly remove demonstrators who were laying on the monument but they left. This comes after a three-day occupation at the Plaza with protestors angry that this obelisk was still standing.

It was erected in 1866 to honor Civil War-era soldiers who died in battle and has been criticized for being oppressive to Native Americans. Earlier this year, Mayor Webber ordered the obelisk removed, it was too heavy, so only the plaque was removed.

The mayor promised further discussion on its future. Monday on Indigenous People’s Day, these protestors supporting Native Americans took drastic measures. Some people applaud the move, others are angry.

Monday, it took about 40 people almost 20 minutes to pull down the obelisk with chains and ropes but there were tense moments on the Plaza with both sides of the debate arguing. City crews removed what was left of the obelisk.

In written responses to questions from a House committee, National Guard Maj. Adam DeMarco said the Defense Department’s lead military police officer for the National Capital Region sent an email asking if the DC National Guard possessed a long-range acoustic device — used to transmit loud noises — or an “Active Denial System,” the so-called heat ray.

According to AP, DeMarco said he responded that the Guard was not in possession of either device. National Public Radio and The Washington Post first reported DeMarco’s testimony.

Use of either the acoustic device or the Active Denial System would have been a significant escalation of crowd control for the Guard members, particularly since the Defense officials ordered that the Guard troops not be armed when they went into DC.

Law enforcement personnel were armed. And although active-duty military troops were sent to the region, they remained at bases outside the District in case they were needed but never actually entered the District.

The Active Denial System was developed by the military nearly two decades ago, and was unveiled to the public around 2007. It’s not clear that it’s ever actually been used in combat, although there are reports it has deployed.

The system, which emits a directed beam of energy that causes a burning heat sensation, was considered a non-lethal way to control crowds, particularly when it may be difficult to tell the enemy from innocent civilians in war zones. Use of the device appeared to stall amid questions about whether it actually caused more serious injuries or burns than initially thought.

The Long Range Acoustic Device, also called a sound cannon, sends out loud messages or sounds and has been used by law enforcement to disperse crowds. The US military has, in recent years, ordered the LRAD for the Navy’s Military Sealift Command to be used by ships to hail or warn other vessels.

DeMarco testified in late July before the House Natural Resources Committee, which is investigating the use of force against crowds in Lafayette Square that night. His remarks on the crowd control devices came in response to follow-up questions from the committee. DeMarco’s lawyer sent his answers to the committee on Aug. 28; NPR posted the document online Wednesday.

The Trump administration has said that vicious attacks by protesters led federal forces to turn on what appeared to be a largely peaceful crowd June 1 in the square in front of the White House. Law enforcement and security officers that night clubbed and punched protesters and unleashed mounted officers and chemical agents against them in one of the most controversial confrontations at the height of this year’s nationwide protests over the killing of Black people at the hands of police.

The forceful clearing of Lafayette Square, long one of the nation’s most prominent venues for demonstrations, came minutes before Donald Trump appeared in the area, on his way to stage a photo event in front of a historic church nearby.