OXFORD, Miss. — The FBI is helping investigate who tied a noose around the neck of a campus statue of James Meredith, whose admission into the University of Mississippi marked the integration of the school in 1962.
Ole Miss Police Chief Calvin Sellers said the call about the vandalism came Sunday morning. Officers found the rope noose and a pre-2003 Georgia state flag with the Confederate battle flag on its face. Sellers said two men were seen near the statue early Sunday.
The FBI says it is providing assistance in the investigation, at the request of the University Police Department.
Mississippi NAACP president Derrick Johnson on Tuesday called the vandalism "a racial hate crime."
Chancellor Dan Jones condemned the action, saying it is contrary to the beliefs and values of the university.