Today, a renegade sculptor mounted a bust of Edward Snowden in a popular Brooklyn park. The bust was placed before dawn this morning near the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument in Fort Greene Park, atop a preexisting plinth at the southeast corner. Parks Department officials were unable to remove the bust initially, but arrived at noon to cover it with a tarpaulin. A little over an hour later, the bust was fully removed.

According to the artist, the sculpture was meant to honor Snowden as a modern-day martyr akin to those honored by the monument. The sculpture was cast from a bronzelike substance, meant to mimic the style and feel of the bronze sculptures already in the park. The bust was also sized to fit perfectly on the plinths already in place at the park. "We look at this as a gift to the city," the anonymous sculptor told Animal New York, "but gifts are sometimes not accepted."

Parkgoers and members of the media approach the bust for photos.

When The Verge arrived at the park shortly after 11:30AM, the name at the base of the plinth had already been removed by park rangers, but were still assessing how to remove the bust itself. A nearby Parks worker declined to say when the department might come to remove the bust. "We're trying to avoid a whole bunch of media," he said, "even though I know they're on their way." The effort was unsuccessful, as a Vine employee captured the covering of the statue later that day.

2:14pm ET: The bust has been fully removed; we've updated the piece accordingly.