Southeast
Flagstock: UNC Chapel Hill fraternity brothers who defended American flag finally getting their 'rager'
The fraternity brothers at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill who defended the American flag during spring semester campus unrest are getting their party.
A GoFundMe page created by a third party raised more than $500,000 for the college men who prevented the American flag on Chapel Hill’s quad from touching the ground when anti-Israel agitators tried to replace it with the Palestinian flag, promising a “rager.” Country singer John Rich then offered to host a concert on Monday in their honor.
That concert turned into a large show featuring multiple artists and bands including Big & Rich, Aaron Lewis, John Ondrasik and Lee Greenwood. More than 2,000 invited Chapel Hill attendees are expected to show on Monday.
“Somebody raised these guys correctly.”
“I was so impressed that, first of all, someone had taught them . . . that you never let the American flag touch the ground, under any circumstances,” Rich told Fox News Digital when asked about his impression of the photo in May. “Somebody raised these guys correctly. They understand what’s going on.”
ANTI-ISRAEL DEMONSTRATORS GATHER AT UNC-CHAPEL HILL CHANCELLOR’S OFFICE, SMEAR RED PAINT ON BUILDING
UNC Chapel Hill students hold up the American flag during a campus protest on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Anti-Israel agitators replaced the American flag with the Palestinian flag during the demonstration. (Parker Ali/The Daily Tar Heel)
The flag incident happened on April 30, when anti-Israel agitators set up an encampment on the quad, successfully replacing Old Glory once before UNC Chancellor Lee Roberts responded with law enforcement officers to return the American flag to its place. When activists, some of whom were not affiliated with the nation’s first public university, attempted to take it down a second time, a group of male students — including members of multiple fraternities — stepped in.
A student photographer captured the moment that went viral on social media and made national headlines as similar protests occurred on college campuses throughout the country.
UNC STUDENT WHO DEFENDED AMERICAN FLAG FROM CAMPUS MOB ‘HONORED TO GIVE BACK TO THE NATION’
UNC Chapel Hill students hold up the American flag during a campus protest on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Anti-Israel agitators replaced the American flag with the Palestinian flag during the demonstration. (Parker Ali/The Daily Tar Heel)
“Today was a sad yet empowering day at Chapel Hill,” student Guillermo Estrada, class of 2027, said in a May 1 post on X. “When I walked to class, I saw the Palestinian flag raised on our quad flag pole, and was immediately upset at the act that these ‘protesters’ had made. I cannot say I am fully educated on the Israel/Palestine conflict but it upset me that my country’s flag was disrespected in order to advocate for another.”
Estrada added that Chancellor Roberts and officers who replaced the flag the first time “were met with profanity, middle fingers, thrown bottles, rocks, and water.” Videos circulating on social media show a group of students singing the National Anthem and chanting, “USA!” as the American flag was returned to the pole.
“We stood for an hour defending the flag so many fight to protect.”
“When the flag was raised once again, the Greek community began singing the National anthem. As the Chancellor left, the quad erupted into chaos as protesters began removing the flag once again, preparing to destroy it,” Estrada continued. “My fraternity brother and others ran over to hold it up, in order for it not to touch the ground. People began throwing water bottles at us, rocks, sticks, calling us profane names. We stood for an hour defending the flag so many fight to protect.”
About 1000 pro-Palestinian demonstrators rally at the South Building after a “Gaza solidarity encampment” was removed by police early Tuesday morning, April 30, 2024, at UNC-Chapel Hill. (Travis Long/News & Observer/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Estrada went on to explain that he comes from an immigrant family and a “military community” where he “saw first hand the sacrifices they make.”
“I will not stand for the disrespect these ‘protest[e]rs’ cause for the sake of another country,” Estrada wrote. “My LDOC will be memorable in knowing that my fraternity brothers and others fought to keep the flag up. But it was also be memorable [sic] in knowing that so many yearn to disrespect it.”
UNC FRATERNITY BROTHERS DEFEND REINSTATED AMERICAN FLAG FROM CAMPUS MOB WHO REPLACED WITH PALESTINIAN FLAG
Protestors stamp red handprint stains on the Chancellor’s building at UNC Chapel Hill, Saturday, May 11, 2024. Earlier in the day, students vandalized the Chancellor’s building in protest of the Hamas-Israel war. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)
The fraternities included in the American flag moment included Pi Kappa Phi, AEPi, Delta Upsilon, Delta Kappa Epsilon, Phi Gamma Delta, and Zeta Beta Tau, according to the GoFundMe.
UNC CHAPEL HILL BOARD VOTES TO DISMANTLE DEI PROGRAMS, USE FUNDS ON CAMPUS POLICE AFTER ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS
“We told you our intent was to send any excess funds leftover from the party to worthy causes, entities that are consistent with the theme of the fundraiser. Charities proposed by the frats include: Back the Blue NC, Wounded Warrior Project, Children of Fallen Patriots, and Zeta Beta Tau Foundation to Combat Anti-Semitism. Honoring donor intent continues to be Pints for Patriots’ north star,” a June update on the GoFundMe page reads. “We are excited for Labor Day. More updates and surprises to follow in the weeks to come!”
Back the Blue was invited to attend Flagstock on Monday and issued a statement saying part of the donated funds will go toward its mission to provide resource and assistance to law enforcement officers and the families of those who have died in the line of duty. When the Chapel Hill students stopped the flag from hitting the ground in May, four law enforcement officers had just died in the line of duty in Charlotte while serving a warrant earlier that week.
The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill’s campus on Thursday, May 2, 2024. Students from the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity are being commended after photos surfaced of them holding up the American flag during an anti-Israel protest earlier this week. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)
“We are deeply humbled and grateful to be chosen as a beneficiary of this event,” said Lindsay LiCausi, Founder and CEO of Back The Blue NC, Inc. “The support from the community during such a pivotal time reinforces our commitment to honoring and assisting the brave men and women who protect and serve our nation.”
The “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy” singer in May commended the “bravery” of the students who held up the flag for going against the grain of the protesters and standing up for what they believe in.
“I think that when people, especially young people, have enough guts and determination to proclaim their love for the country and show their respect for the flag — when it’s an inconvenient moment, when it’s a tough moment to do it — they deserve to be recognized for that,” Rich said. “And I’m hoping that when we recognize them in such a huge way, I hope it ignites that same passion all across the country.”
Flagstock will be available to stream live online at 7:30 p.m. ET Monday.
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Southeast
UNC 'Flagstock' erupts in 'USA!' chants as John Rich, Lee Greenwood tells students 'it's OK to be patriotic'
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – It’s OK to be patriotic.
That’s what John Rich of Big & Rich wanted college students at the University of North Carolina to feel at Flagstock 2024, the concert-turned-music festival he put on in honor of the fraternity brothers who stopped the American Flag from hitting the ground during anti-Israel protests in May, according to Rich’s manager, Marc Oswald.
“My question for you is this: Do you still love America?” Rich asked students in the crowd during his performance on Monday at the local American Legion in Chapel Hill.
The crowd responded by chanting, “USA! USA! USA!”
FLAGSTOCK: UNC CHAPEL HILL FRATERNITY BROTHERS WHO DEFENDED AMERICAN FLAG FINALLY GETTING THEIR ‘RAGER’
A patriotic flyover graces the stage. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)
Rich wanted to host a “protest to support patriotism” — hence the name “Flagstock” — and “make sure students and people in general feel it’s OK to be patriotic,” Oswald told reporters on Monday when asked about the name of the concert.
Several hundred Chapel Hill students attended the music event, which included performances from Big & Rich, Lee Greenwood, Aaron Lewis and John Ondrasik, a.k.a. Five for Fighting — less than the anticipated 2,000 students organizers expected earlier in the week. Roman Rene Ramirez of Sublime also made a surprise appearance.
Still, those who did show were proud to express their support for the country with “USA” chants, while others wrapped themselves in American or Israeli flags.
ANTI-ISRAEL DEMONSTRATORS GATHER AT UNC-CHAPEL HILL CHANCELLOR’S OFFICE, SMEAR RED PAINT ON BUILDING
UNC draped in the US and Israeli flags embrace. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)
Matthew Broderick, a senior and a journalism major, told Fox News Digital that the “vibes on campus have been very split” in the lead-up to Flagstock.
“There’s a lot of people who are in huge favor of this. They love this. And then there’s a lot of people who think this is a really bad idea,” Broderick said. “I mean, I think some fraternities and sororities have been telling the people … ‘Hey, don’t come to this. We think it’s a bad look.’ And then some have been like, ‘Hey, please go to this is. It’s a really good look. It’s good for our fraternity and our sorority.’ … But I don’t think there’s a consensus about this.”
“It’s very split.”
Back in May, activists on campus tried twice to replace the American flag on Chapel Hill’s quad with a Palestinian flag, but when they began taking it down the flagstaff for the second time, a group of students stepped in to prevent Old Glory from touching the ground.
A student photographer captured the moment that went viral on social media and made national headlines as similar protests occurred on college campuses throughout the country.
UNC Chapel Hill students hold up the American flag during a campus protest on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Anti-Israel agitators replaced the American flag with the Palestinian one during the demonstration. (Parker Ali/The Daily Tar Heel)
UNC Chapel Hill students hold up the American flag during a campus protest on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Anti-Israel agitators replaced the American flag with the Palestinian one during the demonstration. (Parker Ali/The Daily Tar Heel)
After the photo caught the country’s attention, a GoFundMe page created by a man named John Noonan, who initially started the fundraiser to buy “a few kegs” for the students and give his friends a good laugh, ended up raising more than $500,000 to throw the students a “rager.” Noonan ended up creating a 501 C-4 organization called Pints for Patriots, complete with a board of directors, to help organize the funds and the event it would eventually grow into.
Then, Rich offered to help by hosting a concert in the student’s honor. At first, Rich was planning on putting on a small show in front of a fraternity house, but plans changed when they raised half-a-million dollars, according to Oswald.
John Rich performs in front of the iconic photo. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)
Noonan broke down how some of the funds that helped put the show together while giving reporters a tour of the venue on Monday. The stage itself, from Technical Arts Group (TAG) Live, cost $100,000, though TAG also donated a lot of material support for the event.
“We haven’t seen kids do what these kids did in a long time,” TAG Live Operations Director Jarrod Choury told Fox News Digital, adding that the students’ actions on campus “spoke to” TAG Live to be a part of the concert.
“We haven’t seen kids do what these kids did in a long time.”
UNC students attend Flagstock in Chapel Hill, N.C. on Labor Day Monday, September 3, 2024. The concert was in honor of the fraternity brothers who stopped the American Flag on campus from hitting the ground during anti-Israel protests in May. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)
The security budget for the event was approximately $80,000, including plainclothes security, 20 Orange County Sheriff’s Office staff, fire and EMS personnel. Pints for Patriots chartered more than a dozen 50-passenger buses to transport students to and from campus, according to Noonan.
Dan Cragg, an attorney working for Pints for Patriots, offered about $15,000 to $20,000 worth of pro-bono general counsel legal work for the event.
“We want to create an incentive system where sticking their neck out like that — defending the flag — there’s a there’s a bonus for that.”
‘What those kids did was honorable and patriotic,” Cragg told Fox News Digital. “And we want to support that. … And certainly, we want to create an incentive system where sticking their neck out like that — defending the flag — there’s a there’s a bonus for that. There’s a reward for that.”
UNC Chapel Hill students and VFW members gather for “Flagstock 2024” in North Carolina.
Numerous VFW and American Legion personnel volunteered to help put the event together, as well, forgoing their Labor Day to help set up tents, port-o-potties and more.
While the show started out small and somewhat quiet, eventually, a large crowd of Chapel Hill students in attendance found their way to the stage as the night wore on and took part in the patriotic messages that singers presented during their sets.
‘What those kids did was honorable and patriotic. And we want to support that.”
John Rich performs at Flagstock 2024 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (The Image Direct for Fox News Digital)
Noonan told reporters it is unclear exactly how much — of any — leftover funds will go toward charity, but he is determined to remain transparent about what donor money was used for.
“We are extraordinarily cautious and judicious about ensuring the funds are used properly,” Noonan told reporters on Monday.
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Southeast
Ritzy Florida beach town politician arrested for alleged DUI: 'I think the mayor is drunk'
Naples, Florida, police arrested Mayor Teresa Heitmann on Aug. 28 for allegedly driving under the influence.
Police initially responded to a residence in the 500 block of 16th Avenue South after receiving a call from a man and his wife saying an unknown woman in a silver vehicle had followed them from 12th Avenue South and 3rd Street South — a popular strip of restaurants and shops in downtown Naples — to their residence.
When the couple arrived at their residence, the unknown woman “stopped her vehicle on the grass in front of their home,” police said in a press release.
After a “brief exhange” between the callers and the woman, she parked in their front yard, at which point the couple decided to contact police.
FLORIDA SHERIFF’S DEPUTY RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL ONE MONTH AFTER DEADLY ‘AMBUSH’ ATTACK: REPORTS
Police initially responded to a residence in the 500 block of 16th Avenue South after receiving a call from a man and his wife saying an unknown woman in a silver vehicle was following them from 12th Avenue South and 3rd Street South to their residence. (Google Maps)
“I think the mayor is drunk and she just, she just literally—oh, she just drove over our mailbox,” the caller can be heard saying in a 911 call, according to local news outlet NBC 2.
When the police arrived, they identified the woman leaning on her vehicle as Mayor Heitmann. Police-worn body camera footage obtained by NBC 2 shows Heitmann appearing to distance herself from her own title while interacting with officers.
“Mrs. Mayor, will you come on over for me right here?” an officer can be heard saying to Heitmann in the footage.
FLORIDA WOMAN ARRESTED FOR AMBUSH MURDER IN KILLING OF DEPUTY, CLAIMED SHE WORKED FOR GOD
Naples, Florida, police identified the unknown driver as Mayor Teresa Heitmann. (Collier County)
“No, don’t call me mayor. I am Teresa Heitmann right now, I am not the mayor,” she responds.
Officers believe Heitmann may have been intoxicated and asked her to complete a field sobriety test, which she agreed to. Upon completion of the test, responding officers “found probable cause to arrest Mrs. Heitmann for driving under the influence of an intoxicating substance,” police said.
Authorities transported the mayor to Naples Jail Center, where she agreed to participate in a breathalyzer test to determine her blood-alcohol content. Following the breathalyzer, police determined that she had a BAC of 0.155 and 0.169, while the legal limit in Florida is 0.08.
Mayor Teresa Heitmann was apprehended in the 500 block of 16th Avenue South in Naples, Florida. (Google Maps)
“City employees were saddened to learn about last week’s incident involving the Mayor,” Naples City Manager Jay Boodheshwar told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Naples community should rest assured that our City team is committed and dedicated to serving our residents. I have 100% confidence that our City employees will not let this incident affect service delivery to our community.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Heitmann’s attorney, James Derek Verderamo, for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Julia Bonavita contributed to this report.
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A 10-year-old Louisiana boy was arrested after allegedly telling authorities that he fatally shot a former mayor and his adult daughter over the weekend.
Police responded around 6:30 a.m. on Sunday to a home in Minden and found the bodies of former Minden councilman and interim mayor Joe Cornelius Sr., 82, and his daughter, 31-year-old Keisha Miles, inside with multiple gunshot wounds, KSLA-TV reported.
A guardian brought the boy to the police station, where he allegedly confessed to the killings, the station reported.
Police have yet to release the identity of the 10-year-old boy or his relationship to the victims. Investigators have not released details about what led to the shooting.
ALL-AMERICAN WISCONSIN COLLEGE GYMNAST SHOT AND KILLED DAYS BEFORE CLASSES BEGIN
Joe Cornelius Sr., 82, was a former councilman and interim mayor of the city of Minden, Louisiana. On Sunday, he and his daughter, 31-year-old Keisha Miles, were found shot and killed inside a home. (City of Minden)
Neighbors told the station that they heard about eight gunshots after an apparent argument broke out between Cornelius and the 10-year-old boy over credit card charges for video games.
Minden Police Chief Jared McIver told the outlet that the boy has shown no remorse over the alleged killings.
FOUR PASSENGERS KILLED AFTER GUNMAN OPENS FIRE IN CHICAGO-AREA TRAIN CAR ON LABOR DAY: POLICE
Minden Mayor Nick Cox remembered Cornelius for his service to the community in a post on social media.
“Joe Cornelius’s years of service to Minden were marked by his commitment and dedication to the betterment of our community,” Cox wrote. “On a personal note, I am grateful for his friendship and the many ways he supported me and others in our city.”
Cox asked the public to keep Cornelius’ family in their prayers.
Police are continuing to investigate the incident.
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