Ex-student indicted for noose on Ole Miss statue

On Friday a former student of the University of Mississippi was indicted on federal civil rights charges for allegedly hanging a rope and flag featuring the Confederate battle flag around the neck of a statue of James Meredith, the university’s first black student.

The Department of Justice said that Graeme Phillip Harris was indicted by a grand jury on the charge of conspiracy to violate civil rights and for using a threat of force to intimidate African-American students because of their race or color, according to MSNBC.

In the early morning hours of Feb. 16, 2014, a rope and an old version of the Georgia state flag used as a battle flag by the South during the Civil War was placed around the neck of the statue.

Meredith was the university’s first black student after the university was desegregated in 1962. Shortly after the incident, Harris withdrew from the school.

“This shameful and ignorant act is an insult to all Americans and a violation of our most strongly-held values,” U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. “No one should ever be made to feel threatened or intimidated because of what they look like or who they are.”

The Department of Justice has said three other members of the university were involved in the incident. The other members were from the Sigma Phi Epsilon chapter.

Although the three were never named, the national fraternity suspended the chapter and expelled the members involved from the organization a week after the incident.

University of Mississippi Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Brandi Hephner LaBanc said the situation is unfortunate for all involved, including the student who was charged.

“I can’t help but feel the pain of the student and the parents who will now feel the full weight of our justice system, but also feel the pain of our campus community and the entire Ole Miss family, which suffered greatly from the terrible act committed a year ago,” she said. “We’re hopeful that this indictment will begin to bring closure and the next step in healing for our university.”

The Department of Justice said the investigation is ongoing.

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