Student Charged With Hanging
a Rope on Statue of James
Meredith at University of
Mississippi
The Head of
the Statue of
James Meredith
MISSISSIPPI – A student from the University of Mississippi in
Oxford was charged with hanging a rope and an outdated version
of the Georgia state flag, which prominently depicts the
Confederate flag, around the neck of the statue of James
Meredith, officials announced today.
A federal grand jury indicted Graeme Phillip Harris on one
count of conspiracy to violate civil rights and one count of
using a threat of force to intimidate African American
students because of their race or color, according to
authorities.
“This shameful and ignorant act is an insult to all Americans
and a violation of our most strongly-held values,” said
Attorney General Eric Holder.
Adding, “No one should ever be made to feel threatened or
intimidated because of what they look like or who they are.
By taking appropriate action to hold wrongdoers accountable,
the Department of Justice is sending a clear message that
flagrant infringements of our historic civil rights will not
go unnoticed or unpunished.”
According to the charging documents,
this is what happened:
Outdated
version of the
Georgia state
flag,
Harris conspired with others to use the cover of darkness to
hang a rope and an outdated version of the Georgia state flag,
which prominently depicts the Confederate battle flag, around
the neck of the James Meredith statue on the campus of the
University of Mississippi, with the intent to threaten and
intimidate African-American students and employees at the
university.
The iconic statue honors Meredith’s role as the university’s
first African American student after its contentious 1962
integration. The incident occurred in the early morning hours
of Feb. 16, 2014.
Harris is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Jackson,
Mississippi, Division’s Oxford Resident Agency and the
University of Mississippi Police Department, officials said.