A protester accused of helping tear down a century-old Confederate monument at the University of North Carolina says the toppling was a “righteous act.”

Raul Jimenez had a brief court appearance Thursday in Orange County court on misdemeanor charges of rioting and damaging a public monument. Two others have later court dates on the same charges of helping to topple “Silent Sam.”

Jimenez said in an interview afterward that students had asked UNC leaders for a long time to move the statue that they say symbolizes racism. He said the community acted when university leaders wouldn’t. He called it a “righteous act of people power.”

Asked if he’s guilty of pulling the statue down, Jimenez declined to say he did it. He said he and the other protesters charged in the Aug. 20 protest plan to fight the charges.

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