An investigation into Ku Klux Klan-style hoods placed on a Confederate monument in North Carolina resulted in police arresting a Raleigh man for littering Monday evening.
Jonathan Alan Williams, 42, was arrested and charged with misdemeanor littering several hours after he shared a photograph of the hooded statue on social media, local outlets reported.
Posted on Twitter earlier Monday, the photo showed the Monument to North Carolina Women of the Confederacy on the state Capitol grounds – a century-old statue of a Civil War-era woman sitting next to a young boy wielding a sword – but with both figures wearing white hoods similar to those worn by KKK members.
“Huh. That’s new,” Mr. Williams captioned the image on Twitter.
State Capitol subsequently launched an investigation that culminated in Mr. Williams being arrested later Monday, local outlets reported.
“The good news is I think I’ve discovered a cure for depression. The bad news is side effects include arrest warrants,” Mr. Williams tweeted later Monday.
Mr. Williams has been ordered to appear in court for the littering charge on April 8, WNCN reported Tuesday.
Mr. Williams told The Washington Times that he has not yet entered a plea.
Dedicated in 1914, the seven-foot-tall monument was the subject of competing rallies held Saturday by pro-Confederacy and anti-fascist groups. Its pedestal was previously vandalized in 2015.
North Carolina considered removing the monument and two similar memorials located on the Capitol grounds after a 2017 rally held in support of a Confederate statue in Charlottesville, Virginia, resulted in the death of a counterprotester.
The North Carolina Historical Commission found last year that state law prevented the statutes’ removal and instead voted to add “additional signage with historical facts and context … to ensure that the significant contributions of African-Americans are presented along with an explanation of the struggles they endured in NC as they fought for civil rights and social justice”
Please read our comment policy before commenting.