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Accused Confederate Monument Topplers Get All Felony Charges Dropped

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Rob Shimshock Education Reporter
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A North Carolinian judge dropped felony charges Tuesday against seven individuals accused of toppling a Confederate monument.

The Durham County Court previously dropped felony charges against three individuals implicated in the toppling a statue of a Confederate soldier in August, reported WNCT 9. The court dropped felony charges against another seven individuals Tuesday.

Police arrested and charged a total of 12 individuals after the Confederate statue was torn down. (RELATED: Rioter Who Toppled Confederate Statue In Durham May Received Scholarship)

Roger Echols, Durham’s district attorney, said there was no evidence indicating that “physically participated in taking the statue down,” according to WNCT 9. He also noted that the court “filed voluntary dismissals for three of the individuals charged.”

Protesters began kicking and spitting on the monument after tearing it down.

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Durham had charged alleged participants in the protest that resulted in the statue’s illegal removal with property damage exceeding $1,500 and incitement to riot, according to CNN. Misdemeanors include less than $200 in injury to personal property, defacement of a public statue, and real property injury.

More than 170 people indicated via Facebook that they would call Echols and Phil Berger, president of North Carolina’s Senate “to DEMAND they drop charges against the Durham 12.”
“All across the U.S., city leaders are removing these archaic and painful symbols of white supremacy and oppression,” reads the page. “NC law GS 100-2 prevents local governments from removing confederate statues and should be REPEALED!”

The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to Echols for further comment, but received none in time for press.

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