Silent Sam Remains Illegally Removed Under Cover of Darkness Hours After UNC Chancellor Resigns

Under the cover of darkness, and just a few hours after UNC Chancellor Carol Folt announced she would step down,  and ordered the removal of the remaining pedestal of the Silent Sam memorial, crews arrived on campus to begin the task, despite the fact that doing so is a direct violation of North Carolina State Law. It took them less than 3 hours to load the base onto a flat bed and haul it away.

Arriving on the scene shortly before the first section was lifted off, Gary Williamson and several of his men from ActBac NC decided they could no longer stand by and watch. The men approached the crane and when Gary attempted to stop the removal, he was tackled by law enforcement and detained. He was arrested and charged, and, as of this writing, has been released.

Here is Chancellor Folt's resignation announcement:
https://www.unc.edu/posts/2019/01/14/folt-resignation-orders-confederate-monument-pedestal-removed/

The removal of the pedestal was a clear violation of state law.

Earlier today in Virginia, a judge ruled again that Charlottesville city councilors can be held individually liable in a lawsuit over votes to remove the Lee and Jackson monuments. We hope this is the case in Chapel Hill, too, so that Chancellor Folt and all those involved can be sued personally, as well as the University.

The removal of the base was a parting shot designed to win points with the petulant, spoiled, ignorant students and the leftist professors who inspired them.  As we have seen time and time again, this capitulation will not appease them, but will serve to embolden others by teaching them if they want something they only need to resort to violence, destruction of property and scream and yell loud and long enough to get exactly what they want, even if it is at the expense of the honor and memory of young men who left the University to march off to die in battle.

This new development, while heartbreaking for those of us who watched it unfold, only means that now instead of having to return Silent Sam to the pedestal, the university will have to return the pedestal AND the statue.