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I'm in the Orange County Courthouse to observe the trial of Nancy Rushton McCorkle and Ryan Barnett, former members of Heirs to the Confederacy on trial for desecrating Unsung Founders memorial. dailytarheel.com/article/2019/0…
Molly is also live-tweeting the trial. We were sitting behind a woman who attends demos wearing an Israel t-shirt & has formed a bizarre alliance with neo-Nazi Daniel McMahon. She moved after taking video/photos of us.
A UNC cop is testifying. Says at 1:30AM on 3/31, he saw two people at Unsung Founders monument. The judge asks questions about the size of the monument (which is small, btw, and was constructed off to the side and under the shadow of Silent Sam).
Cop identifies the people he saw as the defendants. Says they were sitting on the monument. "We talked about the weather" and how bars were about to let out.
To clarify, they were sitting on the stumps surrounding the monument. A longstanding issue w/ Unsung Founders is that white people constantly disrespect the monument by using it as a picnic table.
Prosecution plays body cam footage. Q: tell us about your prior interactions.
A: I've seem them at demonstrations around campus. They were "very vocal, very enthusiastic about their views." Describes them as pro-confederacy.
A: I've seem them at demonstrations around campus. They were "very vocal, very enthusiastic about their views." Describes them as pro-confederacy.
Cop "can't remember any specifics" of what Nancy and Ryan have said at protests. Funny, because they can always seem to remember the anti-racist chants.
Judge is complaining he can't hear the sound. And if you're wondering - yes, this is the same judge who said MLK deserved jail time (Judge Long).
I heard something that sounded like "students are running around" but also had a hard time making out the sound.
After leaving for about a minute, he says he came back and saw "table was covered in polymer" and there was a "wet spot" even though it hadn't been raining. Barnett is accused of urinating on the monument.
Cop says "comments" were written on the table. Defense objects to prosecution attempting to submit photos into evidence. Judge allows it.
After taking photos, cop says grounds crew cleaned the monument. Neither he nor the judge have read aloud what was written, but press reported they contained racial slurs. & a lawyer and faculty member previously contacted Maya & I to say police told them our names were mentioned
Defense cross-examines. Line of questioning is mainly getting cops to say the Heirs had not previously violated laws at protests. And that grounds crew successfully cleaned the monument.
Of course, the claim that there was "no lasting damage" (which cop says was "correct") completely ignores the racial intimidation aspect of the case and the impact the desecration had on Black students at UNC.
Defense gets cop to confirm that on the video, the cop warned Nancy and Ryan about "drunk college kids" on campus. UNC Police warning racists about students is pretty much peak UNC Police.
And now Lt. Oliver will be testifying. We know him as "Officer Heart Attack" because during Maya's trial, he claimed he had no idea why Silent Sam was controversial and said police were stationed near it to prevent heart attacks.
Testimony is focusing on technicalities of surveillance video.
Q: What is a DVR?
A: It's a Digital Video Recorder
Wow, I feel extremely old.
Q: What is a DVR?
A: It's a Digital Video Recorder
Wow, I feel extremely old.
The judge is questioning the prosecution about the chain of custody of the surveillance video. Defense is arguing that there was not an unbroken chain of custody, and trying to get the video thrown out.
Defense: but how can you know video is real, if no one witnessed what happened in person?
Judge: that would mean no surveillance video is ever admissible.
Judge: that would mean no surveillance video is ever admissible.
Prosecution will play surveillance video. @Tooterbelle whispers to me, "are we about to watch a pee tape?"
@Tooterbelle The video is taken from a distance. The camera is on Franklin Street facing McCorkle Place. I am assuming it is one of the many cameras that was placed in the area to protect Silent Sam.
@Tooterbelle UNC placed expensive cameras around the statue at the request of wealthy admins. Trustee Allie Ray McCullen "asked for greater security around Silent Sam and called for protesters, whom he referred to as 'criminals' and 'entitled wimps,' to be arrested" insidehighered.com/news/2018/08/0…
@Tooterbelle Molly has a better angle and can see a bit of the video.
@Tooterbelle Prosecution asked officer heart attack if he knew the purpose of Unsung Founders & why it was dedicated. True to form, he responded "I do not."
@Tooterbelle 👇👇👇
@Tooterbelle Court is back in session after a short recess. A different UNC police officer is testifying. He was patrolling the north side of campus on 3/31 and observed damage to a sculpture outside Hanes Art Center.
@Tooterbelle Refers to "writing" around the base. Prosecution hands a photos to the judge (Defense objection over-ruled) of statue before and after 3/31/19.
@Tooterbelle Judge says the writing looks like it was done in stone, but no one has stated what was written.
@Tooterbelle I had to interrupt this live tweet briefly, because the prosecution asked me to testify at the last minute, since my name was written on one of the monuments. I had a moral dilemma about that but decided to testify (which the prosecution hoped would help establish motive).
@Tooterbelle Basically I testified that I had encountered the defendants at rallies, and they harassed me previously. When I described Ryan Barnett calling out my name at a rally in winter 2019, the questioner confused me by saying winter 2019 hasn't happened yet (it was Feb 2019).
@Tooterbelle Testimony now is focusing on cleaning and restoring Unsung Founders memorial after the vandalism.
@Tooterbelle Defense cross-examines Director of Grounds. Defense is now equating the racist desecration of Unsung Founders with vandalism of Silent Sam, done to put a racist monument in proper historical context.
@Tooterbelle Side note - when Defense asked me to testify, they said the Hanes sculpture graffiti included something like "Fuck Lindsay Ayling, fuck her white supremacy." Which sounds very much like Ryan Barnett (he's been tweeting that ppl who counter-protest the KKK are white supremacists)
@Tooterbelle Now a different UNC cop is testifying that he discovered that the UNC System flag was replaced with a confederate flag.
@Tooterbelle A Deputy from the Orange County Sheriff's Office is testifying about the afternoon of 3/31/19, when Linda Sarsour spoke in Hillsborough. The defendants brought the UNC System Flag to the Islamophobic protest against Sarsour's speech.
@Tooterbelle Here is a photo (by @acrider) of Ryan Barnett and Nancy Rushton holding the UNC System flag at the demonstration against Linda Sarsour on 3/31/19. 
@Tooterbelle @acrider Judge Long says "that looks like a bedsheet to me instead of a flag."
@Tooterbelle @acrider An "intel officer" testifies that he's seen the defendants at demonstrations and has spoken to them both. He speaks to Nancy Rushton McCorkle whenever they want to come to campus.
@Tooterbelle @acrider On April 1, he called Nancy to tell her & Ryan there were warrants out against them. While talking, asked if she had the UNC flag. She responded she would bring it with her when she turned herself in, but she never brought the flag.
@Tooterbelle @acrider During cross-exam, judge seems to doubt whether the flag in the photograph was a real UNC System flag.
@Tooterbelle @acrider The next witness is a former employee of the UNC System. He testifies he is familiar with the flag. Former President Spellings approved the design of the UNC System Flag and only one was ordered.
@Tooterbelle @acrider Fifteen minute recess.
@Tooterbelle @acrider Amber has some further info on the intel officer who testified.
@Tooterbelle @acrider Anti-racists observing the trial are discussing lack of attn to racial intimidation charge. Prosecution didn't really lay out the significance of Unsung Founders. Photo they gave to the Judge almost definitely showed racial slurs, but prosecution didn't make an argument about it.
@Tooterbelle @acrider Prosecution sums up the evidence - body cam footage, surveillance footage, police seeing them b4, UNC System Flag, Barnett on video with his hands near his crotch.
@Tooterbelle @acrider Prosecution specifies that they wrote the n-word on Unsung Founders.
@Tooterbelle @acrider Judge is now asking about the specifics of the laws. Says indecent exposure doesn't apply because someone has to witness at Nancy McCorkle doesn't count because she's a participant.
@Tooterbelle @acrider Prosecutor mentions they wrote my name after knowing it months before. Judge Long: "You think they're the only ones in their movement who don't like her?"
@Tooterbelle @acrider Defense says that aside from body cam footage, there isn't footage of defendants until about 9:00AM. At judge's prompting, defense argues it was not a crime to urinate on Unsung Founders. So it looks like the judge is also ignoring the racial intimidation charge.
@Tooterbelle @acrider Judge: "do you believe urination would be defacement?"
Defense: no. I would not personally participate in it, but it is not illegal.
Further argues there is no video of Hanes Art Center.
Defense: no. I would not personally participate in it, but it is not illegal.
Further argues there is no video of Hanes Art Center.
@Tooterbelle @acrider Judge Long is now saying the photos of the flag are "pretty good evidence" of possession of stolen property.
@Tooterbelle @acrider Defense: "as much as the state may disagree with my client's views on race" that is not illegal. Goes on to say he has never heard of Unsung Founders. Is he saying that if a white lawyer hasn't heard of a Black history monument, desecrating it can't be racial intimidation?
@Tooterbelle @acrider Judge Long is now reading the wording of the racial intimidation statute, along with the language of laws against damaging monuments.
@Tooterbelle @acrider Long reads graffiti aloud. The graffiti read in part, "Maya Little is a domestic terrorist. Tear this down."
@Tooterbelle @acrider They are showing images of the graffiti, which includes the n-word written on Unsung Founders memorial.
@Tooterbelle @acrider Defense argues this case wouldn't normally be an issue, but the state is making a big deal of it because of Silent Sam.
@Tooterbelle @acrider Brief recess while Judge Long makes his decision.
@Tooterbelle @acrider While we're waiting, we got copies of the photos. Graffiti that mentions Maya and I was on Hanes. Which also said "Fuck Antifa & BLM"
The graffiti on Unsung Founders: "Confederates run this down," "destroy this monument to racism," "f****ts," the n-word, "Yankee go home," "fuck this monument," "Confederate lives matter," "tear this down." The urine was labeled "piss" with an arrow pointing toward it.
Judge Long is back, asking more questions about the language of the statutes they are charged with violating.
Judge says is no definition of "damage" "injure" or "destroy," which prosecution argues against. Adds there is "no sufficient evidence" anyone urinated. Prosecution points out graffiti literally says "piss" with an arrow.
Someone's cell phone just went off. Ring tone was "Dixieland"
Count 1: injury to real property. Count 2: damage to public monument. Count 3: ethnic intimidation. Count 4: larceny and possession.
On questioning from the judge, prosecution says they can be convicted of both 1 and 2 but not punished for both
On questioning from the judge, prosecution says they can be convicted of both 1 and 2 but not punished for both
Judge says non-guilty of ethnic intimidation because they were trying to intimidate "a whole group" as opposed to a single person. WTF????
Guilty of possession of stolen property and public urination (defense objects to the later based on judge's prior comments, Long says he'd forgotten about the "piss" comment)
Long also says you can't urinate without exposing yourself, and therefore Ryan Barnett is also guilty of indecent exposure.
Defense speaks before sentencing. Claims Nancy Rushton McCorkle "has a positive relationship with African Americans."
Defense says Ryan Barnett is an Air Force Veteran who fought in Afghanistan. Both live in South Carolina. Defense is asking for unsupervised probation.
Prosecution is re-calling a witness to testify to the costs of cleaning vandalized memorials and theft of the UNC System Flag. Total was $1326.32.
Judge Long is leaving again to consider the sentence.
Sentence for both: 18 months unsupervised probation. Larceny: suspended sentence for 18 months. Jointly liable to reimburse UNC $1326.32. Additional fine of $500. And 200 hours of community service.
Public urination & indecent exposure sentence for Ryan Barnett: $100 fine.
Public urination & indecent exposure sentence for Ryan Barnett: $100 fine.
*the suspended sentence was for 45 days in jail. If they don't break the law within 18 months, they won't serve any of that time.
