UNC's 'Silent Sam' statue targeted again
CHAPEL HILL (WTVD) -- Authorities with UNC said police will not investigate after someone blindfolded the "Silent Sam" Confederate memorial on the campus of UNC Chapel Hill Wednesday.
The face of the Confederate Army soldier statue was covered with a Confederate flag.
Randy Young, Information Specialist for UNC Public Safety says the department does not consider Wednesday's blindfolding an act of vandalism.
The monument, which was erected on campus in 1913 as a memorial to the more than 300 UNC students who died in the Civil War, has been vandalized several times recently.
Last month, someone spray-painted the words "Who is Sandra Bland?" on the statue.
Bland was found hanged last month in a Texas jail and her death has sparked protests around the country. Many have disputed how it happened and alleged racial violence against Bland, who was 28 years old.
And over the July 4th holiday, someone spray-painted the words "murderer" and "black lives matter" on the base of the monument.
The statue has frequently been a source of controversy and the scene of protests over the years.
Sculptor John Wilson intended the soldier to be "silent" because there is not a cartridge box on the man's belt so he cannot fire his gun - hence the "Silent Sam" name.
In December, 2014, someone put a plastic hood over the statue's head and left a length of rope at its feet.
Numerous area Confederate monuments have been targeted around the Triangle since the removal of the Confederate Flag at the South Carolina Capitol.
