Protesters toppled the controversial top stories direct to your inbox SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up to receive our rundown of the day'sdirect to your inbox When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. At about 7pm more than 300 protesters gathered in the Peace and Justice Plaza and then marched to the statue, asking for it to be removed. "Silent Sam" was toppled at around 9.30pm, which was followed by big cheers from the crowd. People were chanting "stand up, fight back" and "hey, hey, ho, ho, this racist statue has got to go”. One person was arrested and charged with resisting arrest and for concealing one's face during a public rally. The protest was billed as being “in solidarity with Maya Little who faces criminal trial for covering Silent Sam in paint and her own blood”. Ms Little is a doctoral student and is facing criminal charges after defacing the monument. In addition to the criminal charges, she is also facing honour court proceedings, which she claimed could lead to her expulsion. The student has been one of the lead organisers in a series of protests calling for the removal of the statue following the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where a counter-protester was killed last August. People were chanting "hey, hey, ho, ho, this racist statue has got to go” Ms Little said: "It’s time to build monuments to honour those who have been murdered by white supremacy. “It’s time to tear down Silent Sam. It’s time to tear down UNC’s institutional white supremacy." Raul Jimenez, one of the people charged in connection with toppling another Confederate monument in Durham, also attended the protest. Mr Jimenez said: "I'm supporting all the students here today. North Carolina Congressman Pittenger: Charlotte protestors 'hate white people' "As someone who was tried and found not guilty of taking down a statue in Durham, I am here to support them in taking down this statue." First-year students and protesters Nora Dickson and Gretchen Mackie claimed the scene was tense and emotional. University of North Carolina’s biology professor said she attended the protest after putting her kids to bed. She said: “All people deserve to be treated with dignity.” Over the course of the past year "Silent Sam" has caused public outcry, with students and faculty members calling it "racist" and asking for it to be removed. Students claimed claimed the scene was tense and emotional<doc-sep>A Confederate statue in the heart of North Carolina’s flagship university was toppled Monday night during a rally by hundreds of protesters who decried the memorial known as “Silent Sam” as a symbol of racist heritage. The bronze figure of a Southern soldier atop a tall stone pedestal, erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1913, had been under constant police surveillance after being vandalized in recent months, costing the University of North Carolina hundreds of thousands of dollars. Protesters appeared to outwit officers by splitting into two groups. Most marched away from the statue while a smaller group surrounded it with banners on bamboo poles, concealing efforts to tie a rope or cable around it. Then the groups reconverged and yanked it down, videos show. Once the bronze statue was toppled, Silent Sam’s face down on the ground, demonstrators kicked it and cheered, chanting “Tar Heels!” and “Whose Campus? Our Campus!” as passing cars’ horns were honked in approval. Advertisement Many students, faculty and alumni had called the statue a racist image and asked officials to take it down. Others argued that it should remain as a tribute to fallen ancestors. Protesters responded to the assertion that the statue wasn’t a symbol of white power by reading its 1913 dedication speech, by tobacco magnate Julian Carr, celebrating the Ku Klux Klan’s postwar campaign to terrorize former slaves. UNC leaders including Chancellor Carol Folt had previously said state law prevented the school from removing it. Once it was down, a dozen officers surrounded the fallen statue, which was eventually covered with a tarp. The sight of the empty pedestal “is pretty breathtaking,” said Manuel Ricardo, an African American freshman. “I think most people here are happy. I’m ecstatic.” Junior Ian Goodson said he came out after he heard the statue had fallen because he wanted to see history. “It’s a significant event for UNC,” he said. And while he doesn’t agree with what the Confederacy stood for, he understands that some saw the statue as an important memorial. Asked whether he’s glad the statue came down, he said: “I was always kind of torn.” North Carolina ranks among the handful of Southern states with the most Confederate monuments, and has been a focal point in the national debate over them following a deadly white nationalist protest a year ago in Charlottesville, Va. Protests over the UNC statue flared in the last year, and another Confederate monument in nearby Durham, N.C., was torn down shortly after the Virginia protest. Advertisement Gov. Roy Cooper had called for removing Silent Sam and other Rebel symbols on public land. A state historic panel is set to meet this week to debate Cooper’s request to remove other Confederate monuments at the state Capitol. Still, the Democratic governor issued a statement on Twitter on Monday night arguing that the protesters took the wrong approach. “The Governor understands that many people are frustrated by the pace of change and he shares their frustration, but violent destruction of public property has no place in our communities,” said the tweet from his official account. The university echoed that. Advertisement “Tonight’s actions were dangerous, and we are very fortunate that no one was injured. We are investigating the vandalism and assessing the full extent of the damage,” the university said in a tweet. UPDATES: 6:40 a.m.: This article was updated with details about the rally and responses from students, school officials and Gov. Roy Cooper. This article was originally published Monday, Aug. 20 at 7:55 p.m.<doc-sep>
EMBED >More News Videos Watch: Silent Sam statue comes crashing down. Courtesy of our newsgathering partners the News and Observer. Hard to tell but this is the statue of #SilentSam after he was brought down tonight by protestors. #ABC11 @UNC pic.twitter.com/O7w8o83Fk9 — Josh Chapin (@JoshChapinABC11) August 21, 2018 The statue of #SilentSam has been picked up by a backhoe and will be put into a dump truck as we speak. #abc11 pic.twitter.com/BMkt0nvam9 — Josh Chapin (@JoshChapinABC11) August 21, 2018 CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) -- Hundreds of protesters gathered at the Silent Sam statue on the University of North Carolina's campus Monday evening chanting for the removal of the monument and later blocking traffic in the Franklin Street area. After dark, they removed it themselves, using a rope to bring the Confederate statue crashing down.The group initially gathered to call for university leaders to take action and remove the monument.But sometime after dark, a group used a rope and took matters into its own hands, toppling the statue amid wild cheers from the gathered crowd.Through a statement, Gov. Roy Cooper said he shared the frustration felt by protesters but condemned the desecration of public property. "Governor Cooper has been in contact with local law enforcement and UNC officials regarding tonight's rally and appreciates their efforts to keep people safe," said Cooper's spokesman, Ford Porter. "The Governor understands that many people are frustrated by the pace of change and he shares their frustration, but violent destruction of public property has no place in our communities. "Those who called for the removal of Silent Sam said Monday night's protest was also in solidarity with Maya Little , the UNC graduate student who was facing expulsion from school and criminal charges for covering Silent Sam with paint and her own blood earlier this year.Many students used large signs and banners to cover the statue.Protesters then moved up Franklin Street and were blocking traffic. Chapel Hill Police said Franklin Street is closed between Raleigh Street and Church Street. It reopened about 9:15 p.m., police said.At some point after that, the statue was brought to the ground. Some threw dirt on the statue as if to bury it. Law enforcement soon moved in and formed a human barrier around the fallen monument.The University tweeted a statement about the events, saying in part, that Monday's "actions were dangerous, and we are very fortunate that no one was injured. We are investigating the vandalism and assessing the full extent of the damage. "The statue had stood on UNC's campus since June 2, 1913, Commencement Day at UNC and the day the United Daughters of the Confederacy dedicated what then was called by most simply the Confederate Memorial.Bettie Jackson, a member of UDC, told the crowd at the dedication, "This monument is erected in memory of those students of this university who served in the armies of the Confederate States of America. "Now, its future remains unclear.As midnight approached, the statue was picked up by a backhoe and placed into a dump truck.