2 Found Guilty of Vandalizing Monument to Black Enslaved and Freed Workers

HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. (AP) — Two people accused of vandalizing a memorial to enslaved and free black workers who built UNC-Chapel Hill have been ordered to pay fine and perform community service.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reports 31-year-old Ryan Francis Barnett of Sanford and 50-year-old Nancy Rushton McCorkle of Newberry, South Carolina, were found guilty of injury to real property and larceny, both misdemeanors.

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An Orange County judge sentenced Barnett and McCorkle to 200 hours of community service, 18 months of unsupervised probation and a $500 fine.

The two were accused of marking the Unsung Founders Memorial in March with what the school's interim chancellor said was "racist language."

The memorial is in a central plaza that also featured a statue of a Confederate soldier before protesters tore it down in August.

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Information from: The News & Observer, http://www.newsobserver.com

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