Arrests Begin Following Confederate Statue Toppling

[struggle4progress]

DAVID A. GRAHAM 5:47 PM ET

... Taqiyah Thompson, who climbed a ladder and put a rope around the statue before a crowd tugged it off its base, was arrested by deputies around 4:45 p.m., immediately following a press conference at North Carolina Central University, in which she had defended her actions and others demanded amnesty for all involved. A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office confirmed that deputies had begun executing warrants, but she did not immediately know how many.

“I did the right thing,” Thompson said during a World Workers Party press conference on the steps of a building at the historically black college ...

Thompson was one of several speakers at the press conference ... They also .. criticized Governor Roy Cooper, a Democrat, for his statement Monday night that summarily pulling down statues was the wrong way to deal with them ...

Cooper, meanwhile, offered a more aggressive statement late Tuesday afternoon .. demanding that the General Assembly repeal the law preventing removal of monuments.

“Cities, counties and the state must have the authority and opportunity to make these decisions,” Cooper wrote. “Second, I’ve asked the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources to determine the cost and logistics of removing Confederate monuments from state property as well as alternatives for their placement at museums or historical sites where they can be studied in context” ...

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/08/durham-arrests/537015/

[struggle4progress]

1. North Carolina Monuments

... Some people cling to the belief that the Civil War was fought over states’ rights. But history is not on their side. We cannot continue to glorify a war against the United States of America fought in the defense of slavery. These monuments should come down.

Our Civil War history is important, but it belongs in textbooks and museums  —  not a place of allegiance on our Capitol grounds. And our history must tell the full story, including the subjugation of humans created in God’s image to provide the back-breaking labor that drove the South’s agrarian economy.

I understand the frustration of those fed up with the pace of change. But after protesters toppled a statue in Durham Monday night, I said there was a better way to remove these monuments.

My first responsibility as governor is to protect North Carolinians and keep them safe. The likelihood of protesters being injured or worse as they may try to topple any one of the hundreds of monuments in our state concerns me. And the potential for those same white supremacist elements we saw in Charlottesville to swarm the site, weapons in hand, in retaliation is a threat to public safety ...

Governor Roy Cooper
https://medium.com/@NC_Governor/north-carolina-monuments-b7ead3c471ee

[struggle4progress]

2. Deputies arrest protester

POSTED 5:38 PM, AUGUST 15, 2017, BY WEB STAFF

... Thompson is charged with disorderly conduct by injury to a statue, damage to real property, 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 ...

http://myfox8.com/2017/08/15/deputies-arrest-protester-who-helped-pull-down-durham-confederate-statue-in-durham/

[The_Casual_Observer]

3. I certainly hope that the statue is damaged beyond repair, those stupid things

were made of brass and pot metal, it looked pretty bent.

[David__77]

4. I imagine plenty of people will step forward to lend these people material and political support.

...

[gratuitous]

5. That's the price you pay sometimes

Oddly enough, I tend to agree with Gov. Cooper that summarily pulling down statues is the wrong way to deal with this. But now that the monument to that traitor is gone, I hope North Carolina doesn't feel any obligation to replace it. Public lands in the United States should host memorials and monuments to its good citizens, not to those who took up arms against it. We don't have statues of Hitler, Mussolini or Hirohito on public grounds; we shouldn't have statues of Lee, Davis, or any of the rest of that traitorous rabble, either.

[FSogol]

7. +1 n/t

[struggle4progress]

6. Protesters topple Durham Confederate statue

... The Durham protest was in response to a white nationalist rally held in Charlottesville, Virginia during the weekend.

"I'm not surprised seeing what's gone on in this country," Durham Mayor Bill Bell said Monday night.

Because the statue was on county property, Bell would not comment on any possible charges against the protesters for the vandalism ...

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/durham-protesters-topple-confederate-statue/591805308

[struggle4progress]

8. College student charged

... The governor also stated that North Carolina legislature "should defeat a bill that grants immunity from liability to motorists who strike protesters."

The bill passed the state House and remains alive in the Senate.

Cooper said the Senate should kill it, stating, "Full stop. Those who attack protesters, weaponizing their vehicles like terrorists, should find no safe haven in our state" ...

http://www.wxii12.com/article/ever-received-a-phone-call-about-a-free-cruise-you-may-be-entitled-to-cash/12013623

[Lotusflower70]

9. Gofundme

There should be one for the fine. I would definitely contribute to that. To raising money to rebuild it, screw it.

[obamanut2012]

16. gofundme doesn't allow that

[Lotusflower70]

18. Yeah I figured

If it was possible, I would be all in.

[NightWatcher]

10. Just as we used pictures to identify faces, if you plan to act up, might I rec

Go to Amazon and search for face mask buff



If you are going to act up, act smart

[metalbot]

14. Has extra advantages too!

If you do something that's actually bad, people here will argue that you are actually a right wing plant there to do violence. It's practically win-win!

<end sarcastic portion of post>

Own what you do.

Own what you say.

Wearing a mask basically says you are too cowardly to own the consequences of your actions.

I'd also argue that wearing a mask emboldens people in the EXACT SAME WAY that the anonymity of the internet does. I'd point to the former adjunct professor who was outed at a CA protest for clubbing someone with a bike lock. While it's possible that he'd have still done that if he hadn't been wearing a mask, it seems unlikely.

[struggle4progress]

20. It's illegal to demonstrate in NC with your face masked: old anti-KKK law

[Weekend Warrior]

11. I hope the don't have prior arrests...

And they get good representation to knock down whatever the charges might be. Vandalism is a charge you often won't even get the chance to explain to a possible employer. Hey white nationalists, that's economic anxiety. When you are willing to do what is right knowing it might hurt possible employment opportunities.

[Expecting Rain]

19. Like members of the World "Workers" Party will ever have a job.

[MichMan]

12. Wonder if she will have to pay restitution to put it back up nm

[speaktruthtopower]

13. She shouldn't have done that...

it just legitimizes people taking the law into their own hands.

[struggle4progress]

15. How activists are changing policing, politics, in Durham

BY VIRGINIA BRIDGES
AUGUST 15, 2017 5:50 PM

... activists supported the two newest City Council members, Jillian Johnson and Charlie Reece ... After someone tweeted that if it were legally possible for Durham officials to take down the Confederate statue, city leaders would, Reece replied: "Fact check 100% true." Durham is more of an activist community than probably any city in the state, said Mayor Bill Bell. "That is just Durham," Bell said. “That is just the community" ... http://www.heraldsun.com/news/local/counties/durham-county/article167374042.html

[struggle4progress]

17. Fate of Confederate soldier statue uncertain

BY ZACHERY EANES
AUGUST 15, 2017 11:18 AM

... "The truth of the matter is that this is unprecedented, and it’s unclear what our responsibilities are," <County Manager Wendell Davis> said, noting that he isn’t aware of a monument being torn down or defaced anywhere else in the state since the General Assembly passed its law.

Davis said the county’s lawyers will begin to reach out to the historical commission about its requirements going forward. The lawyers would then present what it finds to the county commissioners.

"Then the public body will have to discuss how we proceed forward," he said ...

"There is a whole of of ambiguity and uncertainty right now that has to be worked through," Davis said.

http://www.heraldsun.com/news/local/counties/durham-county/article167380907.html

My own view is this: the law presents Durham from doing anything to the statute, including repair, without explicit permission from the NC General Assembly