Seven Arrested After Fights Over ‘Silent Sam’ Statue at UNC

Police remove a protester during a rally to remove the confederate statue known as Silent Sam from campus at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

On Saturday, seven people were arrested in fights over the fate of ‘Silent Sam’— a Confederate statue that was toppled last week on the campus of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill (UNC), according to NBC News.

‘Silent Sam’— a monument which was created and placed on UNC’s campus, which critics call a “symbol of racist heritage” and supporters claim to be “a tribute to fallen ancestors”—remains in storage after the incident occurred.

The seven protestors were arrested on the following charges: “three were arrested on suspicion of assault; two others on suspicion of assault, destroying property and inciting a riot; one on suspicion of destroying property; and one for allegedly resisting an officer,” UNC spokeswoman Carly Miller said in a statement.

In a recent message to the UNC campus community, university officials said that none of the people arrested were affiliated with the campus and no one was seriously injured.