Last night, a large group of protesters tore down the Silent Sam Confederate statue on the UNC Chapel Hill campus.
At about 9:15pm, several dozen masked protestors covered the statue with gray banners, which had “For a world without white supremacy” written on them.
This video, taken by one of the participants, shows the entire thing unfold;
UNC released a statement Monday night about the incident;
“Around 9:20 p.m., a group from among an estimated crowd of 250 protesters brought down the Confederate Monument on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Tonight’s actions were dangerous, and we are very fortunate that no one was injured. We are investigating the vandalism and assessing the full extent of the damage.”
Gov. Roy Cooper’s office also released a statement, saying;
“Governor Cooper understands that many people are frustrated by the pace of change and he shares their frustration, but violent destruction of public property has no place in our communities…”
Police blocked off the area around the statue with yellow crime scene tape. Eventually, the statue was loaded onto a truck.
It’s still unclear what, if any, disciplinary actions will be taken against the protestors involved.