CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WNCN) - Three people have been charged in connection with the toppling of the Confederate monument on UNC's campus known as Silent Sam.
Orange County District Attorney Jim Woodall confirmed three people face charges of misdemeanor riot and misdemeanor defacing of a public monument. Their identities were not immediately available.
The district attorney said those facing the charges are not UNC students.
The SBI and the UNC Department of Public Safety are investigating the toppling. Woodall said earlier in the week he anticipates the investigation will take several days.
The charges come as a member of the UNC Board of Governors said the monument will be reinstalled on the Chapel Hill campus within 90 days.
According to UNC's website, the North Carolina division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy commissioned the memorial in 1913 to honor the 321 UNC alumni who died fighting for the Confederacy in the Civil War.
The UNC website notes that Silent Sam is a statue of a soldier carrying a rifle, but he has no cartridge box with ammunition and is thus silent.
PHOTOS | 'Silent Sam' Torn Down During Protests On UNC's Campus
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