An activist briefly removed the Confederate flag from the grounds of the State House early Saturday morning.

The South Carolina Bureau of Protective Services says around 6:15 a.m. officers monitoring the flag saw a woman wearing climbing gear scaling the pole at the Confederate Soldier’s monument, where the flag flies.

SC BPS officers say they asked for her to come down, but she refused until she had unhooked the flag.

In a video released of the incident, officers can be heard yelling, “ma’am come down off the pole.” The woman, who law enforcement identified as 30-year-old Bree Ann Byuarium Newsome of Raleigh, can be heard saying, “You come against me in the name of hatred, repression, and violence. I come against you in the name of God. This flag comes down today.”

Activists remove the Confederate flag from South Carolina Sate House on June 27, 2015. Andrea Densky

As soon as she was back on the ground, officers placed her in handcuffs and took her away. As she was leaving, she could be heard reciting the 23rd Psalm from the Bible.

Another man who was inside the wrought iron fence around the monument and was assisting her was also taken into custody. He was identified as 30-year-old James Ian Tyson of Charlotte.

Both were charged with defacing a monument and taken to the Richland County Jail. The charge is a misdemeanor, and is punishable by a fine or a maximum jail time of three years.

Activists take down the Confederate flag at the SC State House on June 27, 2015. (Photo: Andrea Densky)

A new flag was put up within an hour.

A group called Ferguson Action tweeted photos and video of the incident, where they refer to the woman who was arrested simply as “Bree.” They released this statement:

“We are regular human beings, daughters, sons, mothers, fathers, Carolinians, educators, and activist —both black and white— who believe in the fundamental idea of humanity. The flag we removed is one of the most familiar remnants of white supremacy that supports the idea that there is still a reigning group of individuals who control our freedom, while tacitly supporting white Americans when they commit heinous and racially charged hate crimes against Blacks and People of Color. We took this task in our own hands because our, President, Governor, mayors, legislators, and councilmen had a moral duty to remove the flag but failed to act. We could not sit by and watch the victims of the Charleston Massacre be laid to rest while the inspiration for their deaths continue to fly above their caskets.

“We call all people to join us and stand as a united front, to take an active role towards liberating ourselves through the dismantlement of the largest form of our oppression, white supremacy. Let this day be the start towards true human progress.”

The incident comes almost five days after Governor Nikki Haley and other state leaders called for the removal of the Confederate flag. There had been a rising tide of people asking for the banner to come down following the massacre of nine people inside Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, a crime that police say was racially motivate. Pictures surfaced online showing the alleged shooter posing with the Confederate flag, and some had questioned if flying the rebel banner at the capitol building sent the right message in the wake of the tragedy.