3 arrested after Confederate statue defaced again outside NC church, police say
Police arrested and charged three suspects after a 111-year-old Confederate monument outside of a United Methodist church in Cornelius was defaced again early Tuesday.
At about 2 a.m., police arrested Treyvon Ciccio, 19, of Cornelius, and Gabriel Huezo, 21, of Charlotte, and charged them with first-degree trespassing and injury to personal property, Mecklenburg County jail records show. Ciccio and Huezo are free on $12,000 bail, according to the jail.
A juvenile also was arrested in the vandalism outside Mt. Zion UMC north of Charlotte, Cornelius Today reported.
Vandals spray painted the words “racist” and “BLM,” short for Black Lives Matter, on the monument, according to video taken of the scene by The Charlotte Observer. Police did not return two calls from the Observer Tuesday.
The vandalism came just hours after another often-vandalized Confederate statue in the Charlotte region was moved on a flatbed from its 111-year-old perch in downtown Salisbury into temporary storage, Observer news partner WBTV reported.
The Salisbury City Council and the local United Daughters of the Confederacy chapter reached an agreement to place the Fame statue in the Old Lutheran Cemetery, where Confederate dead are buried, the Observer has reported.
Legacy of ‘shame’
Both the Salisbury and Cornelius statues have been vandalized repeatedly in recent years, as calls grew to move them from their places of prominence.
Police in 2017 charged a Davidson man with misdemeanor injury to property after the Cornelius memorial was defaced with an “X” in blue spray paint over the words “Our Confederate Soldiers,” the Observer reported at the time.
Demands to remove Confederate monuments have occurred nationwide in recent months, prompted by widespread protests for the Black Lives Matter movement and against police brutality in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd, a black man, by Minnesota police.
In early June, Mt. Zion pastors Jonathan and Angela Marlowe called for the Cornelius statue’s removal. On Monday, leaders of the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church also said it’s time for the statue to go.
“The argument that these monuments are simply a part of some people’s heritage, is actually a reminder and legacy of the shame, hate, intimidation and degradation of a whole people,” conference leaders said in a statement.
The Cornelius statue was built in 1909 during the Jim Crow era, and is still owned and maintained by the Mount Zion Monument Association, formed by descendants of Confederate veterans, the Observer previously reported.
The memorial is an obelisk topped by the statue of a soldier. The church owns neither the memorial nor the land on which it sits, the Marlowes have said.
‘Politically charged climate’
Mount Zion Monument Association chairman Donald Archer did not reply to requests for comment over the past week. But in a statement to the Observer in June, Archer said the group was reviewing what to do with the monument.
“In today’s politically charged climate, many people do not view this memorial as a significant and valuable piece of history,” he said in the June statement. “Due to this climate, the association is exploring all options available to protect and save this significant part of the history of Mecklenburg County and ... North Carolina.”
In a July 2 statement, members of the Mt. Zion administrative board backed the Marlowes’ call to remove the Cornelius statue, saying the monument “is perceived by many as offensive” and urged the association to immediately remove the monument.
“We know our church to be a very warm, welcoming, and hospitable congregation,” administrative board members said. “We truly love and welcome all people ... For many people, the outward appearance that they see does not match the inward reality that we know.”
All remaining Confederate monuments should be removed from courthouses, public squares and main streets across the United States, leaders of the Western North Carolina Conference of United Methodist churches said Monday.
The conference includes 1,138 churches with about 285,700 total members, according to its website.
‘Symbols of white supremacy’
Conference leaders called on Confederate heritage groups to work with local and county governments to remove the monuments.
“We oppose symbols commonly associated with white supremacy, like the Confederate battle flag and other Confederate symbols as they do not represent the values of a holy, just, equitable, and Beloved community,” conference leaders said in the statement.
This story was originally published July 7, 2020 at 4:13 PM.