Confederate statue on UNC campus toppled by protesters

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — The controversial "Silent Sam" statue on the campus of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill has been toppled by protesters.

WRAL-TV reports more than 300 people gathered at the Peace and Justice Plaza at about 7:30 this evening before marching to the Confederate statue's base and calling for its removal. At 9 p.m., protesters had marched down Franklin Street before returning back to the statue's base. By 9:30 "Silent Sam" was down.

There were some tense moments between police and protesters. One person was arrested and charged with concealing one's face during a public rally and resisting arrest.

Students, faculty and alumni have called the statue a racist image and asked officials to remove it.

The statue was given to the university by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1909. It was erected in 1913.