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UNC Interim Chancellor Lee Roberts was praised by conservatives on social media on Tuesday after he removed a Palestinian flag hung by anti-Israel protesters on campus and replaced it with the American flag.
“This university doesn’t belong to a small group of protesters. It belongs to every citizen of North Carolina. Everybody in North Carolina, everybody who goes to school here, everybody who lives and works here. The flag represents all of us. Take down that flag, and put up another flag, no matter what flag it is – that’s antithetical to who we are, what this university stands for,” Roberts told reporters after restoring the American flag.
“The broad majority of this campus knows how to express their views… without violating university policy,” he continued. “That flag will stand here as long as I’m chancellor.”
UNC Interim Chancellor Lee Roberts was praised across social media on Tuesday after he removed a Palestinian flag hung by anti-Israel protesters on campus and replaced it with the American flag. (Fox News)
Roberts then insisted he would keep students safe from “a very small minority of students who want to disrupt their experience.”
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson posted a video on social media applauding Roberts.
“I don’t know how many of you have seen this, but there was a pretty disturbing incident today to add to the disturbing incidents we’ve seen all across the country and all across the state from some of these protests. At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, student protesters actually took down the American flag and raised a Palestinian flag,” Robinson said.
“The good news is this – law enforcement officials, along with the chancellor, interim Chancellor Lee Roberts, went out, took down that Palestinian flag and replaced the American flag back where it’s supposed to be,” he added. “They sent a strong message that that’s not going to be tolerated on that campus and I hope that that type of strong message continues.”
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Anti-Israel protesters replaced the American flag with the Palestinian flag during a demonstration at the University of North Carolina’s Chapel Hill campus on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (Heather Diehl/The Daily Tar Heel)
The student newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel, reported that once protesters raised the Palestinian flag from the UNCflagpole in Polk Place, police used pepper spray to disperse the crowd.
The Daily Tar Heel reported that students chanted “Lee Roberts, you can’t hide, you’re funding a genocide,” as he personally restored the American flag along with police offers who stood by his side.
Chants of “USA, USA,” were heard from counter protesters as the flag was restored. Counter protesters then embraced Roberts.
“Chancellor Lee Roberts put on a master class in leadership today. University admins across the country would do well to emulate his actions,” Rep. Destin Hall responded.
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The American flag is surrounded by a temporary barrier at Polk Place at the University of North Carolina on May 1, 2024, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. ((Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images))
“Time to take ‘interim’ out of the title and give Lee Roberts the job,” one person responded to the viral footage.
A self-described citizen journalist added, “Despite despising the Tarheels and UNC-Chapel Hill, I gotta give my respect to Chancellor Lee Roberts. He punked the anti-American protesters.”
Fox News host Pete Hegseth joined “FOX & Friends” to discuss the moment.
“We should take to heart and remember that the majority of young people today respect and love the country. This is a reflection of, probably the majority of the campus of UNC. But our conversation is being driven by a very noisy, very powerful, very influential minority of people who simply hate the country,” Hegseth said.
Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace and Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.
Brian Flood is a media editor/reporter for FOX News Digital. Story tips can be sent to brian.flood@fox.com and on Twitter: @briansflood.
