The UNC Graduate and Professional School Honor Court has found Maya Little responsible for violating the university’s code of conduct. The history grad student poured a mixture of what she said was her own blood and red paint on the Confederate monument on the Chapel Hill campus known as Silent Sam in April.

The Daily Tar Heel and News & Observer reported that after five hours of hearings on each Thursday and Friday Little was sanctioned by the five-member honor court with a written warning and 18 hours of community service to be performed.

The Honor Court hearing drew attention on Thursday after it was discovered that Frank Pray was one of the members deciding on Little’s case. Pray is a former leader in the College Republicans at UNC who has made public statements supportive of Silent Sam. He has also criticized on social media some of those who protested the Confederate monument.

Little walked out of the hearing on Friday after the court ruled that Pray’s previous comments would not impact his impartiality in the case.

Little was found guilty last week of a misdemeanor criminal charge for defacing a public monument in connection with the incident. District Court Judge Samantha Cabe continued judgment in the case and waived all associated costs, meaning Little did not face punishment.

Little has been a prominent figure around protest of Silent Sam over the last year.

The statue was pulled down from its pedestal by a group of protesters on August 20. There have been three subsequent rallies around the base of the statue bringing those with opposing views on the Confederate monument face-to-face, leading to confrontations. A Silent Sam supporter was found guilty this week in District Court for simple assault after punching anti-Silent Sam protester at a rally. District Court Judge Beverly Scarlett did not issue a punishment in that case, instead focusing blame for the incident on the university.

UNC issued the following statement this week after that ruling:

We work hard every day to make this a safe and inclusive campus. Chancellor Folt has repeatedly said since August 2017 that if she could move the monument, she would, citing the threat its presence poses to public safety, as well as it’s divisiveness and distraction from our core educational mission. Yet, there remains a state law prohibiting that action and the Historic Commission confirmed this just a few months ago when it ruled that objects of remembrance may not be moved under the law. The Chancellor’s leadership team and University Trustees are now very focused on meeting the Board of Governor’s directive to present recommendations for the preservation and disposition of the monument by Nov. 15.

There have been more than two dozen arrests from the rallies since the monument was toppled. Most of those are still winding their way through the Orange County Court system.

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