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Confederate statue in Alamance County guarded by law enforcement during protests

Hundreds of people gathered in Graham Saturday near a Confederate statue. The statue was guarded by law enforcement as part of a state of emergency declared by the city's mayor on Friday.
Posted 2020-07-12T12:47:44+00:00 - Updated 2020-07-12T17:05:55+00:00
Black Lives Matter, Confederate protesters show up to protest statue in Alamance County

Hundreds of protesters gathered in Graham on Saturday near the Alamance County Courthouse, where a Confederate soldier monument stands.

Mayor Jerry Peterman's declaration said there is an “imminent threat of widespread or severe damage, injury, loss of life” and created a restricted area that includes the square with the Confederate statue. It is in effect until further notice.

Law enforcement officers guarded the monument as part of a state of emergency declared Friday by the mayor of Graham, located 55 miles (90 kilometers) northwest of Raleigh. The monument has been the target of protests for several years, and calls to bring down it down have intensified since the May 25 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked national demonstrations.

The group marched 1.5 miles from Burlington into downtown Graham, where the statue is located, according to WXII.

The protest featured speeches calling for an end to racial oppression. Many demonstrators held signs and at one point chanted, “Racism, we are going to tear your kingdom down.”

Several Elon University students and staff took part in the protest, according to social media posts. The university is located a couple miles away from Graham.

U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles on Monday blocked a city ordinance that requires permits for protests and limits activities of demonstrators. Eagles issued a temporary restraining order halting enforcement for two weeks, pending a hearing on a request for a longer injunction.

The plaintiffs, including the NAACP’s Alamance County chapter, contend the ordinance violates the U.S. Constitution because it burdens their rights to protest and assemble in Graham. The ordinance requires protesters to apply in writing for a protest permit at least 24 hours in advance. The ordinance also illegally restricts the size and conduct of permitted protests, the lawsuit states.

Eagles wrote she would issue the order in part because the plaintiffs were likely to win on constitutional grounds.

The lawsuit also challenges a May 31 order by Peterman that prohibited people from gathering or demonstrating on any public street, sidewalk or public property between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.

"You cannot uplift the history of that Confederate monument," said one of the protesters, Rev. Greg Drumwright. He was protesting with the group Justice for the Next Generation.

Two people were arrested during the protest. It is unclear what they were charged with at this time.

Several social media posts and photos from the scene indicate that the group Alamance County Taking Back Alamance County showed up to counter protest. The group supports Confederate ideology and was once labeled by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group.

Leader of the group, Gary Williamson was shown to be at the protest through several photos on social media.

Williamson was arrested and plead guilty in 2019 for resisting University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Police during Silent Sam protests. He was there to counter people who protested removal of the statue.

Jessica Reavis was also at the protests, as reported by WXII. She is a known member of the League of the South and marched in the "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The SPLC deems the League of the South a neo-Confederate hate group. Several photos and social media posts show that ACTBAC was also present when an Elon University professor who researches right-wing confederate groups like these was assaulted in June while protesting in this exact location.

Megan Squire, who teaches computer science at Elon and is most known for her work researching right-wing extremist groups on the internet, said she was punched by one of the members of the Confederate gathering. The man who assaulted her was arrested, officials said.

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