'Silent Sam' Confederate statue on UNC campus toppled by protesters

Gerry Broome/AP

• A Confederate statue at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill was toppled during a rally by hundreds of protesters who decried the memorial known as "Silent Sam" as a symbol of racist heritage.
• Once it was on the ground, demonstrators kicked it and cheered.
• UNC leaders previously said state law prevented the school from removing the statue.

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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — 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 crowd gathered across the street from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill plaza for a series of speakers at 7 p.m. before heading over to the quadrangle. Then, about two hours into the protest, a group surrounded the statue and pulled it down, according to television footage. Once it was on the ground, demonstrators kicked it and cheered.

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