Richmond Police declared an unlawful assembly at the J.E.B. Stuart Monument on Sunday night, WRIC-TV reports.
RPD shared a tweet at 9:39 p.m. Sunday night stating it had declared unlawful assembly and defined that as "whenever three or more persons assembled share the common intent to advance some lawful or unlawful purpose by the commission of an act or acts of unlawful force or violence likely to jeopardize seriously public safety, peace or order."
Hundreds of protesters gathered near the monument Sunday night blocking traffic on N. Lombardy Street.
A cone had been placed on top of the monument and several ropes were tied around the statue.
Around 10 p.m., police in riot gear started pushing back against the crowd after some protesters reportedly attempted to pull down the monument.
The Richmond Police Department later tweeted that unlawful assembly had been declared after protesters had attempted to pull down the J.E.B. Stuart statue with a rope.
Virginia State Police said that Richmond Police responded when protesters blocked J.E.B. Stuart intersection, climbed on top of the statue and secured ropes to it.
VSP further stated that it responded to "disperse the rioters" when bottles were thrown at officers and that no injuries were reported.