A group of college fraternity brothers defended the American flag at the University of North Carolina’s (UNC) Chapel Hill campus on Tuesday as pro-Palestinian protesters attempted to tear down the flag and put up the Palestinian flag. The fraternity brothers defended the flag for about an hour despite pro-Palestinian protesters repeatedly shouting profanities and throwing water at the college students.
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Guillermo Estrada, a UNC student, shared an account of Tuesday’s incident. The college student, who is part of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity, shared his perspective of the event, explaining that while he did not know everything about the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, he did not want to see the American flag disrespected by the protesters.
“Today was a sad yet empowering day at Chapel Hill. When I walked to class, I saw the Palestinian flag raised on our quad flag pole, and was immediately upset at the act that these ‘protestors’ had made. I cannot say I am fully educated on the Israel/Palestine conflict, but it upset me that my country’s flag was disrespected in order to advocate for another,” Estrada wrote. “Shortly after, Chancellor Roberts came with police officers to hang the flag once again. They were met with profanity, middle fingers, thrown bottles, rocks, and water.”
Estrada noted that after the American flag was raised back on the flagpole, people started singing “The Star-Spangled Banner.” However, he explained that after the college chancellor left, protesters once again began to remove the American flag and were “preparing to destroy it.”
“My fraternity brother and others ran over to hold it up, in order for it not to touch the ground,” Estrada said. “People began throwing water bottles at us, rocks, sticks, calling us profane names. We stood for an hour defending the flag so many fight to protect.”
READ MORE: Videos: Hundreds arrested as cops clear university protesters
Estrada explained that he had been raised in a military community and had witnessed the sacrifices that military members make for the nation. He added that his last day of class at UNC would be “memorable in knowing that my fraternity brothers and others fought to keep the flag up.” On the other hand, he said the day was also memorable as it showed him how many people “yearn” to disrespect the American flag.
Following the fraternity brothers’ defense of the American flag, a GoFundMe page was set up to fund a “rager” for the patriotic college students. The GoFundMe page states, “These boys… no, men, of the UNC Chapel Hill Pi Kappa Phi, gave the best to America and now they deserve the best.”
A video shared by The Post Millennial shows the fraternity brothers defending the American flag.
