Reaction to UNC campus protest arrests remains split among town leaders in Chapel Hill, Carrboro

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) -- On Wednesday, town leaders in Chapel Hill and Carrboro engaged in a back and forth with the Orange County District Attorney about how to handle demonstrators arrested on Tuesday as part of UNC's large pro-Palestinian protests.

Those town councilmembers issued a statement criticizing the actions of UNC campus police and calling on DA Jeff Nieman to dismiss all charges.

"We strongly condemn this overreaction by the UNC administration," the statement read. "Chapel Hill and Carrboro Police were not involved in this action."

But in an interview with ABC11 Wednesday night, Nieman said it's not that simple.

"Two days after the arrest, when the evidence hasn't even been compiled yet, just too early for anybody to make a determination about whether the cases should be prosecuted," he said.

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Nieman said he hasn't been able to review the evidence in the cases of those charged yet, and dismissing charges unilaterally would be premature. He also stressed that town councilmembers, while well-intentioned, were operating with incomplete information until more details are gathered and reviewed.

"Calling for a D.A. to just flat dismiss the charges before the the evidence is even in and the arrests have just been made is just not the same as calling on a legislator to vote this way or that on a bill," he said. "It just doesn't work like that."

On campus, the protests have created some sudden celebrities. On Tuesday evening, images of fraternity brothers from Pi Kappa Phi standing with the American flag on the main quad as protesters attempted to take it down went viral, spurred a stunning online fundraiser. In the 24 hours since that fundraiser was posted, it's raised over a quarter-million dollars.

When reached by ABC11 Wednesday night, Pi Kappa Phi declined to comment, citing anger from certain members of the community that view them as enemies of the protests taking place on campus.

Meantime, Nieman said he hoped town councilmembers -- and all Orange County residents -- will have faith he'll live up to the campaign promises he made when and if his office prosecutes protesters.

"Those people know the values that I carry to the job and they can trust that I will carry those into the decisions that we make about these cases," he said.