Local News

Man accused of toppling Silent Sam appears in Chapel Hill courtroom

One of several people accused of toppling the Silent Sam monument on the UNC Campus is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday morning.

Posted Updated

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — One of several people accused of toppling the Silent Sam monument on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was in a courtroom Tuesday but there were few fireworks.

Jonathan Fitzgerald Fuller, 27, is one of three people charged following the Aug. 20 protest when the statue was torn down. He is charged with misdemeanor rioting and misdemeanor defacing a public monument.

During his appearance Tuesday, Fuller was ordered to return to court on Oct. 9.

He declined to say if he was involved in the incident the night the Confederate monument was torn down. But he suggested that the monument was not an appropriate tribute on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus.

"It shouldn’t (be located) on campus," he told WRAL News. "It shouldn't have been (placed) on campus at the start, more than 100 years ago. It is a monument of hate (and) does not represent the students here.)

Since the statue fell, at least a dozen others have been arrested following two additional protests.

The people who were arrested come from all over North Carolina, but university officials say none of the protesters are affiliated with UNC-Chapel Hill.

Other suspects have already appeared in court.

UNC Chancellor Carol Folt said campus leaders didn't anticipate the vandalism, and that the school would conduct a complete investigation. She called the actions of the protesters "unlawful and dangerous."

“Whatever anyone feels about the Confederate monument, what happened Monday night was destruction of state property,” she said.

A group of alumni leaders with the Campaign for Carolina sent a letter to the Board of Trustees on Tuesday saying they are, "united in agreeing that it should not return to its former location."

"We further believe that the Confederate Monument, located in a proper context on our campus, can become a catalyst for education about America’s darker hours and for civil discourse about our future," the letter said.

Groups in support and opposition to "Silent Sam", a Confederate statue on campus, met, chanted and carried flags at UNC on Aug. 30, 2018.

Others have protested their support for Silent Sam, and a Sons of Confederate Veterans group placed flowers around the pedestal last week.

 Credits 

Copyright 2024 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.