N.C. Protesters Tear Down Confederate Monument After Car Attack at Va. White Nationalist Rally

N.C. Protesters Tear Down Confederate Monument After Car Attack at Va. White Nationalist Rally·People
Char Adams
Updated
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A group of North Carolina protesters tore down a Confederate statue on Monday in the wake of a deadly car attack at a rally of white nationalists and white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, last weekend.

Demonstrators on Monday chanted “No KKK! No fascist USA” before tying a strap to the monument in front of the old Durham County courthouse in North Carolina and pulling down the statue depicting an armed Confederate soldier from atop an engraved pedestal.

According to a memorial database, the engraved pedestal read, “In memory of ‘the boys who wore the gray.’ ”

The 15-foot monument, which was constructed in 1924, also features a Confederate flag.

Video footage of the incident showed the cheering protesters kicking and spitting on the fallen statue after it toppled to the ground.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper spoke out against the act in a tweet on Monday, writing, “The racism and deadly violence in Charlottesville is unacceptable but there is a better way to remove these monuments #durham – RC.”

However, some social media users praised the demonstrators, with Women’s March officials calling them “True American heroes” in a tweet.

Another Twitter user wrote: “White supremacy got its ankles broke tonight in Bull City! #Durham.”

The incident comes after a car plowed through a crowd of counter-protestors at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville on Saturday, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring several others.

James Alex Fields Jr., 20, has been accused as the driver and was arrested on a murder charge.

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