DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - A North Carolina judge has found one protester not guilty of toppling a Confederate statue, and dismissed charges against two others.

  

Five more protesters accused of tearing down the monument in Durham last summer face trial at a later date.

  

Judge Fred Battaglia found Raul Jimenez not guilty on Monday of three misdemeanor counts including damaging a public monument and conspiracy. He then wrapped up the day's hearings.

  

Two other defendants had their cases dismissed by Battaglia after defense attorneys successfully argued that authorities hadn't properly identified them as taking part in tearing down the monument. It was pulled down days after deadly violence at a Charlottesville, Virginia, rally by white nationalists.