Police arrested seven people attending a demonstration Saturday at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Protesters holding Confederate flags and advocating segregation had gone to the campus to express anger over the toppling of a Confederate statue known as Silent Sam.
Authorities said the charges against the detained demonstrators, who were not affiliated with the university, included inciting a riot, resisting an officer, destruction of property, and assault, according to the HuffPost.
Demonstrators rallying in support of the statue showed up on Saturday morning but their numbers dwindled by noon after counter-protesters who were in favor of toppling it. According to HuffPost, police intervene after altercations broke out between the two groups of protesters. Some students reportedly have received threats after the statue was taken down, CNN reported.
This protest is now shutting down the streets. @myfox8 pic.twitter.com/TXvJKlzCqd
— Lindsay Tuman (@LindsayOnTV) August 25, 2018
A man just punched one demonstrator. Then another was arrested for destroying a confederate flag pic.twitter.com/756e92ypx0
— Myah Ward (@MyahWard) August 25, 2018
Silent Sam stood on the campus since 1913. Hundreds of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill students, along with faculty and community members, gathered to knock down the Confederate statue last Monday night. There had been numerous demonstrations over the past few years demanding that it be removed.
One such demonstration took place last year, when some 800 people gathered on the UNC campus, holding signs that read, “Stop pretending racism is patriotism” and “No Trump, No KKK, No Racist USA” to demonstrate and demand the university take the statue down. One student was arrested. One activist yelled at the time, “Silent Sam is more protected than any student at this university,” and said the university administration “continue to prioritize wealthy alumni over students of color,” according to WRAL.
During past protests, demonstrators have said the statue caters to white supremacists rather than the racially diverse student population, faculty, and community members. It was put on campus by Daughters of the Confederacy, and at its unveiling, a Ku Klux Klan supporter, Julian Carr, gave a speech, the Washington Post wrote.
At the time, he praised the “Anglo Saxon race” and adding, “One hundred yards from where we stand, less than ninety days perhaps after my return from Appomattox, I horse-whipped a negro wench until her skirts hung in shreds, because upon the streets of this quiet village she had publicly insulted and maligned a Southern lady …”
Since the statue was toppled, three people have been charged with misdemeanor counts of rioting and defacing a public monument. Police did not release identifying information about them, except to say they were not associated with UNC, according to HuffPost.
The role of police and their views as they stand guard at protests involving white supremacists and their symbols has received some scrutiny in recent years. During the protest at UNC last weekend, reporters and photographers brought attention to a tattoo displayed by a police officer who stood near the statue on the night of its toppling. The officer’s tattoo is associated with the Three Percenters, a movement that is considered Islamophobic and has helped provide security for white supremacists during the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville last year. Police will not discipline the officer in any, HuffPost reported, and police said the officer “expressed regret that his tattoo has been associated with groups that perpetuate hatred and violence.”
Demonstrators may have to continue their efforts to take down the statue for good. The UNC Board of Governors announced that the monument will be reinstalled within 90 days as required by state law. UNC Board of Governors member Thom Goolsby wrote on Twitter, “Criminals who destroyed state property at UNC and police who did nothing will be held accountable.”