HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. — Two men face a day in jail after being found guilty of rioting, damaging property and defacing a Confederate monument that had stood for a century on the campus of North Carolina's flagship public university.
[ [ALSO READ: Protesters topple Confederate statue 'Silent Sam' on UNC campus] ]
The News & Observer of Raleigh reports that the state district court judge on Thursday found Raul Arce Jimenez and Shawn Birchfield-Finn Jimenez guilty in the toppling of the University of North Carolina monument nicknamed "Silent Sam." They also were assessed a $500 fine and community service.
Eleven others have been convicted in the August melee in which the Chapel Hill statue was toppled. The monument was derided as a symbol of white supremacy and defended as a Southern heritage memorial.
Jimenez was previously found not guilty of toppling a Confederate statue in Durham in 2017.
Past coverage on Silent Sam:
- Athletes petition against $5M building on UNC campus to house Silent Sam statue
- Deadline extended for UNC officials' plan for 'Silent Sam'
- Protesters topple Confederate statue 'Silent Sam' on UNC campus
- Protesters topple Confederate statue 'Silent Sam' on UNC campus
- Hundreds protest on UNC campus against 'Silent Sam' Confederate statue
- UNC students protest 'Silent Sam' Confederate statue
- UNC at Chapel Hill could be sued over Confederate statue