On the night of August the 20th, protesters knocked down a controversial Confederate statue, “Silent Sam,” at the University of North Carolina. This incident is the latest in the national conversation on the removal of racist symbols, such as Confederate statues, from public spaces.

Protesters have been demanding for the removal of “Silent Sam” from the university campus, arguing it is inappropriate for racist symbols to be commemorated today. “Silent Sam” is a statue of a Confederate soldier, sculpted by John A. Wilson. The United Daughters of the Confederacy gave the statue to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to remember and honor alumni and students who joined the Confederate State Army. Due to this history, many local activists groups, college students, and politicians have advocated for “Silent Sam”s removal.

The university issued a statement via Twitter, stating, “Tonight’s actions were dangerous, and we are very fortunate that no one was injured. We are investigating the vandalism and assessing the full extent of the damage.”

While North Carolina’s Democratic governor Roy Cooper had called for “Silent Sam” to be removed, he quickly took to Twitter to condemn the protestors’ actions.

The tweet reads, “The Governor understands that many people are frustrated by the pace of change and he shares their frustration, but violent destruction of public property has no place in our communities.”