Anti-monument protesters claim 'serious escalation' at Confederate monument

Protesters favoring the removal of Edenton’s Confederate Monument from the foot of Broad Street complained this week about what they called a “serious escalation” by counter-protesters who favor preserving the century-old Civil War statue.

Rod Phillips, a spokesperson for the Move the Monument group, said in an email to town officials that a motorcycle club linked to the Sons of Confederate Veterans involved in the counter-protests ventured into an area Phillips referred to as his group’s “side” of the competing protests.

The protesters and counter-protesters demonstrate under guidelines set down by the town, which issues parade permits to both sides for set periods on Saturdays. Protesters from both sides are requested to stay off the memorial plaza and confine their demonstrations to sidewalks on either side of it.

A small parking lot adjacent to a vacant office supply building is also used by pro-monument supporters who operate an information tent on private property with the owner’s permission. The parking lot is bounded by a low wall, which became a focal point of the controversy.

Phillips alleged that motorcycle club members, who may or may not have been involved with the protest, visited the information tent and then sat on the wall, their legs dangling into what Phillips said was his group’s space. He also said they placed a sign on the property, which extended several inches toward the sidewalk, beyond the wall.

“A serious incident occurred at our protest Saturday that we cannot let pass without bringing to your and town council’s attention,” Phillips said in an email to Town Manager Corey Gooden that was shared with the Chowan Herald. “It has become the practice of our counter-protesters to gradually and constantly explore the limits of what they can get away with on our permitted side of the street.”

Phillips said one of the biker club members ended up sitting so his legs dangled over one of the monument protesters’ signs. Phillips claimed the act was designed to be provocative.

“What was this (biker’s) idea in sitting on our sign? What was he looking for? Was he hoping one of us would walk over to him, confront him and force the issue?” Phillips said. “I don’t see any purpose in this guy’s action unless he was hoping to provoke a fight. What other possible reason could there have been?”

Phillips said his group called police and an officer arrived shortly afterward. The officer had a conversation with the bikers and not long afterward, they moved off the wall and “moved across the street to join the rest of their comrades,” he said.

Before they left, however, the Confederate bikers left one of their “Protect Our History” signs “sticking out into our space,” Phillips said. While that might seem like “a minor quibble,” it’s not, he said.

“If they get away with sticking this out 18 inches into our space one week, they will have it sticking out two feet the next,” he said. “If this is allowed now, what will they try next? What about placing their table so that although the legs are within the parking lot, the top extends over into our sidewalk area? What about extending a flagpole from their tent over into our space with their flag overhanging our sidewalk?”

Police Chief Henry A. King said he does not see things that way. He said that despite what a parade permit might say, protesters at demonstrations often migrate outside their boundaries. He said his department could not arrest people for standing in the wrong place if they acted peacefully.

King said he requested that the motorcyclists move to the other side of the street to keep the peace, which they did without incident. There were no reports of threats or intimidation by the bikers. King said he did not ask the motorcyclists to remove the sign, which Phillips said encroached on his group’s space, if not the actual sidewalk.

Efforts to reach the Sons of Confederate Veterans were unsuccessful before press time Tuesday. Still, the bikers did not appear to be active participants in the protest other than by planting a sign.

The protests and counter-protests have irritated many Edenton residents who object to what some call vitriol shown by both sides at the monument plaza.

Protesters routinely place signs claiming their opponents are aligned with the Ku Klux Klan, showing photos of burning crosses and nooses. In contrast, counter-protesters have put signs referring to their opponent as “socialists” and placing pro-Donald Trump campaign signs.

Both sides insisted when asked that their signs are in response to taunts from their opponents.