MIAMI, (APP/AFP): A former University of Mississippi
student pleaded guilty Thursday to placing a noose around a statue of a civil rights icon, admitting he knew it would intimidate African-Americans, the Justice Department said.
Austin Reed Edenfield, who was 19 at the time of the 2014 incident on
campus, faces up to a year in jail and a fine up to $100,000. A sentencing date has not been set.
Prosecutors said Edenfield and another former student, Graeme Phillip
Harris, tied the rope and an old version of the Georgia state flag around the statue in the early morning hours of February 16, 2014.
The flag prominently features the Confederate battle flag that many
consider a racist symbol.
The statue depicts James Meredith, who became the university’s first
black student in 1962 amid violent protests against integration.
Meredith enrolled at the university, popularly known as Ole Miss,
after the federal government sent in 31,000 National Guardsmen and other security forces to maintain order.
International News
Former US student pleads guilty to putting noose on campus statue
