Protesters once again rallied around the remaining base of the Confederate monument known as Silent Sam on the UNC – Chapel Hill campus on Saturday.

This was the third event bringing opposing groups to the base of the statue that remains on McCorkle Place after protesters pulled the statue down on Monday, August 20.

A group known as the New Confederate States of America announced they would be holding a “prayer service” for Silent Sam on Saturday evening. That prompted a counter event by Defend UNC, a group that has organized counter protests like a dance party at a recent pro-Silent Sam rally. Saturday, the Defend UNC group held a “Nazis Suck Potluck and food drive,” scheduled to start just before the New Confederate States of America rally.

Law enforcement officials, led by UNC Police, implemented a similar strategy with the Silent Sam supporters as has been used in past events, setting up barricades around the remaining base of the monument where the Confederate supporters were allowed.

Photos and videos from the scene showed police confiscating the canned foods that were being donated, which law enforcement said was to keep them from potentially being used as weapons.

As the dueling events were winding down, police escorted the Confederate supporters back to their vehicles in the Morehead Planetarium parking lot.

After the Confederate supporters left the scene, there were clashes between Silent Sam opponents and police, which has been a recurring theme throughout the three rallies since the monument was toppled.

Police used similar tactics, video showed, as were implemented at a rally on August 30 where bicycles were used as mobile barricades and police used the bicycles to physically move some protesters.

A release from the Defend UNC group after the rally had ended purported to show that several protesters suffered cuts and bruises allegedly from the use of bicycles by the police.

University officials said officers ordered the crowd to disperse and that officers used smoke to “maintain safety and order,” officials said in a statement to the Associated Press.

There were eight arrests on Saturday, coming in spurts after the pro-Confederate group was escorted away. No information was provided by the university regarding those arrested.

That brings the total of those arrested since the August 20 where the statue was pulled down to more than two-dozen.

UNC – Chapel Hill Chancellor Carol Folt and the campus Board of Trustees have been directed by the UNC System Board of Governors to develop a plan for the disposition and preservation of the statue. That report is due in mid-November.

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