A University of North Carolina (UNC) student at the forefront of anti-Confederate statue movement on campus has been arrested and charged with attacking a police officer and inciting a riot.
On Monday, Graduate student Maya Little was leading a protest against the re-installation of controversial Silent Sam, which was toppled in August to a new campus building.
According to NPR, on Tuesday Little turned herself in at the Orange County Courthouse.
Silent Sam and UNC: A tortured misunderstanding between preserving history and venerating hateful ideology https://t.co/2PgAodKFYi #ncpol via @ncpolicywatch #ncga #ncpol #UNC #SilentSam #highered
— NC Policy Watch (@NCPolicyWatch) December 6, 2018
“I was charged with assault on an officer, a charge that has been commonly used by UNC police when they can’t find anything else to charge activists with, and inciting a riot, both misdemeanors,” Little told The News & Observer.
“The only danger and violence present last night was once again caused by university police who came equipped to a student protest with riot gear and tear gas canisters.”
On Monday, hundreds of students held a protest march on campus against the proposal voted by the board of trustees to relocate the controversial statute.
On August 20, hundreds gathered around the statue asking the officials to erect an alternative monument, saying the installed one signified white supremacy. The statue was toppled the same day amid tensions between police and protestors, while the school termed the development as “unlawful and dangerous.”
Students Resist Confederate Statue Relocation by North Carolina University
