CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) - Police have removed an unauthorized camera and apparent tripwire device from the vicinity of a Confederate monument in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Charlottesville police spokesman Tyler Hawn said Monday that neither the camera nor the "self-made" device belonged to police. He says officers removed them soon after citizens reported their presence.
Hawn declined to describe the device beyond saying it didn't appear to present any threat. Social media posts showed what looked like a tripwire attached to a bell by the base of the statue of Confederate Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.
The city has been trying to remove the statue of Jackson and another of Gen. Robert E. Lee, but a judge has prevented that amid ongoing litigation.
The statues have become the frequent target of vandalism in recent months.
