8 people arrested to protest against an inverted Confederate statue

Police deployed smoke bombs on a crowd to disperse protesters after making arrests on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina on Saturday, September 8, 2018. Supporters and opponents to the statue of Silent Sam Saturday afternoon on the UNC campus, screaming at the base where the Confederate monument was knocked down last month. (Julia Wall / The News & Observer via AP)

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Eight people were arrested on Saturday following another protest about the overthrow of a Confederate monument at the University of North Carolina.

The university confirmed the evening arrests in a statement. The officials did not immediately indicate who had been arrested or what charges were pending.

The memorial known as "Silent Sam" was overthrown on August 20 by protesters who called it a symbol of racist heritage.

A hundred anti-Silent Sam protesters gathered Saturday on the campus of the Chapel Hill School for a "collection of food and nazi sugars," the newspaper reported. Nearby, a dozen people carrying Confederate flags organized a vigil in an isolated area near the statue.

After the two groups began to argue, Silent Sam's supporters were escorted and someone threw them what appeared to be a smoke bomb.

In a statement, the university said the police had ordered the crowd to disperse "due to disorderly behavior". The officers also used the smoke to "maintain security and order," officials said.

Subsequently, some counter-protesters began shouting at the police. Some officers used the handlebars of their bikes to repel Silent Sam's protesters.

This is at least the third time that supporters and opponents of the statue have been fighting on campus since the fall of the monument. Several arrests also occurred during the previous two incidents.

In a statement released on campus on Aug. 31, University Chancellor Carol Folt made it clear that the school would not return Silent Sam to the main quad where she was previously, but did not confirm

Folt is working with the administrators to develop a plan for the statue by the November 15 deadline, when it will be submitted for approval to the board of governors who oversee the university system at the state level.