LOOK: Student arrested after Confederate statue toppled in North Carolina

A college student was arrested Tuesday in connection with pulling down a Confederate statue in front of a former courthouse in Durham, North Carolina.

According to WRAL, 22-year-old Takiyah Thompson has been charged with two felonies: participation in a riot with property damage in excess of $1,500 and inciting others to riot where there is property damage in excess of $1,500. She was also charged with two misdemeanors: disorderly conduct by injury to a statue and damage to real property.

Thompson was among a group of protesters who pulled down the Confederate Soldiers Monument on Monday. The statue had stood in front of the courthouse since 1924.

The North Carolina Central University student was seen using a ladder to climb atop the podium on which the statue had stood. She then wrapped a strap around the statue so that other protesters could pull it down.

Thompson was given $10,000 unsecured bond and is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday morning.

The Durham County Sheriff said that deputies are working to identify others involved in the incident and planning to pursue felony charges against them.

Protest organizers called the monument a symbol of oppression and racism.

A Durham County manager said the protest began as a peaceful gathering in response to Saturday's white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia that left one counter-protester dead and 19 others injured. 

 

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Brian is an Associate Producer for ClickOnDetroit. He graduated from the University of Michigan-Dearborn with a degree in Journalism and Screen Studies.