Buildings vandalized; chancellor says protesters will be held accountable
A group of fraternity brothers at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill are being credited for restoring an American flag on campus for the second time this year after pro-Palestinian protesters removed it.
During an anti-Israel walkout Thursday, protesters removed the American flag outside the campus ROTC building and replaced it with a Palestinian one, according to a video on X by Old Row.
Another video shows a group of young men, identified by Old Row as fraternity brothers, putting the American flag back on the flagpole.
Video emerging from the protest at UNC. pic.twitter.com/ZFjuoAgNla
— Old Row (@OldRowOfficial) September 19, 2024
The students also helped clean up “the mess left by the anti-Israel, anti-American protesters,” American Council of Trustees and Alumni fellow Steve McGuire wrote on X.
More than 200 students and staff participated in the pro-Palestinian “Walk out for the West Bank” at the public university, student newspaper The Daily Tar Heel reports.
The protest included vandalism of multiple buildings, according to the student newspaper:
Demonstrators hung papers outlining their demands throughout buildings, spray painting messages like “Free Gaza,” “Fuck UNC” and “Israel is a terror state” on the walls of Carroll Hall and other buildings as they walked.
There were several speeches demanding that the University reject Israel and the brutalization of students. Protesters chanted phrases like “disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest,” as they walked through Halls including Gardner, Murphey, Carolina, Hanes, Carroll, Chapman, Phillips, Peabody and Sitterson.
They also walked outside of the UNC NROTC Naval Armory, vandalizing the outside of the building with spray paint and draping a Palestinian flag from the gun turret. The American flag that waves outside of the building was also taken down by protesters around 1:48 p.m.
Other videos posted on X show the interior and exterior of several buildings spraypainted with phrases such as “Israel bombs, USA pays” and “Be anti-imperialist.”
UNC Police were present, but the student newspaper could not confirm if anyone was arrested.
Chancellor Lee Roberts told The Daily Tar Heel in a statement that the protesters who destroyed campus property will be held accountable.
“Free expression and peaceful protest are, of course, in line with Carolina’s best traditions. We cannot tolerate, however, vandalism of public property or disruption of classes. We’ll pursue every avenue possible to hold people accountable,” Roberts said.
During another pro-Palestinian protest on campus in April, viral videos and photos showed Pi Kappa Phi members raising the American flag off the ground, The College Fix reported at the time. The members were reportedly pelted with water bottles but held the line for an hour.
It is not clear if the fraternity members Thursday was the same as the ones in April.
MORE: $83,000+ raised for frat bros who defended Old Glory from pro-Palestinian activists
IMAGE: Kate71058926/X, Old Row Official/X
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