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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!”
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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.
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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
Ex-mayor caught in lewd act at booze-filled pool party, prosecutors say
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A former Louisiana mayor is on trial after prosecutors allege her teenage son caught her having sex with one of his 16-year-old friends at a booze-filled pool party.
Misty Roberts, 43, the former mayor of DeRidder, is facing charges of carnal knowledge of a juvenile and indecent behavior with a juvenile, according to KPLC. She has pleaded not guilty.
Roberts’ second trial is underway after the first case resulted in a mistrial due to judicial issues in nearby Beauregard Parish, the outlet reported.
The charges stem from a 2024 late-night gathering at Roberts’ home.
Misty Roberts, 43, the former mayor of DeRidder, is facing charges of carnal knowledge of a juvenile and indecent behavior with a juvenile, according to KPLC. (Louisiana Highway Patrol)
Last week, Roberts’ children and her ex-husband took the stand in her trial, along with a DoorDash driver, family friend and multiple teenagers who were present at the party, according to KPLC.
Jurors were shown a video interview of Roberts’ son, taken last year, in which the teenager reportedly told authorities he witnessed his mother having sex with his friend through a crack in a window during the party.
However, upon taking the stand last week, the teenager reportedly told jurors he was not certain of what he actually saw that evening.
Roberts’ defense attorneys have disputed the recording, telling jurors that part of the interview could have been improperly transcribed.
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Prosecutors allege Misty Roberts had sex with her son’s 16-year-old friend at a booze-filled house party in 2024. (Misty Roberts/Facebook)
Text messages between the mother and son were also shown to the jury, with the pair discussing what type of alcohol the teenagers wanted for the party.
In another exchange, Roberts’ son warned her of the victim’s age, texting her, “He is seventeen,” according to the outlet. The victim was 16 years old at the time of the alleged incident.
Additional text messages from the night of the party show Roberts’ son calling the situation “crazy” and telling her that his younger sister was emotional.
Upon taking the stand, Roberts’ daughter told the court that she witnessed her mother and the victim “on top of each other” the night of the party,” KPLC reported.
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Following the alleged encounter, prosecutors reportedly said the victim’s mother texted Roberts to confirm she was not pregnant.
Roberts replied that she was on birth control, and later screenshotted the messages and sent them in a separate group chat while suggesting she would take an emergency contraceptive known as “Plan B.”
Jurors also heard from a DoorDash driver who testified that he fulfilled an order from “Misty C” to purchase the emergency contraceptive and leave it at the front door of the home, the outlet reported.
The driver added that he later heard rumors about the alleged incident and believed his delivery was connected.
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Roberts’ nephew also testified that he attempted to see what was happening in the room during the party by using his phone’s camera, but was unsure if he recorded any footage and did not send anything to anyone following the alleged encounter, according to the outlet.
The nephew also admitted to deleting his Snapchat memories before investigators took custody of his phone because he did not want to get in trouble over photos of underage drinking, adding he did not intend to delete evidence.
Another member of the victim’s friend group also told jurors that he witnessed Roberts flirting with the victim on the night of the party, while revealing the boy appeared to be drunk and vomited later that night, KPLC reported.
On Saturday, Roberts’ ex-husband, Duncan Clanton, reportedly testified that Roberts confessed to having sex with the teenage boy and that the couple’s children had caught them in the act.
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Misty Roberts is currently on trial in Beauregard Parish for allegedly having sex with her son’s 16-year-old friend at a house party in 2024. (Google Maps)
Jurors were also shown text messages between the married couple, in which Clanton told Roberts, “I would deny what happened if you’re approached by anyone at the meeting,” on the day of a city council meeting.
In another exchange, Clanton reportedly testified Roberts texted him, “I need you to deny it, please.”
Clanton added that while he refused to deny the allegations, he avoided talking about the incident.
“I can’t keep hurting others, friends and family. Lord knows I’ve done enough,” Roberts reportedly texted Clanton, according to KPLC.
On cross-examination, when Roberts’ defense attorney asked Clanton if he felt as though Roberts was a good mom, the father reportedly answered, “No.”
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Roberts resigned from her position as mayor just days before her arrest in 2024. She was initially prohibited from making contact with her children without permission from Clanton and the court revoked child support.
Roberts’ defense attorney did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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Southeast
Florida man who wrestled cop’s gun away and killed him, executed after final appeals rejected
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A Florida man who prosecutors say wrestled a police officer’s service weapon away during a 1991 traffic stop and fatally shot him was executed Tuesday evening after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeals.
Billy Leon Kearse, 53, is set to receive a three-drug lethal injection beginning at 6 p.m. at Florida State Prison near Starke.
Kearse was sentenced to death in 1991 after being convicted of first-degree murder and robbery with a firearm. The Florida Supreme Court later ruled that jurors were not properly instructed on aggravating circumstances and ordered a new sentencing hearing. He was resentenced to death in 1997.
Kearse’s execution would mark the state’s third in 2026, following a record 19 executions in 2025.
Clouds hover over the entrance of the Florida State Prison in Starke, Fla., Aug. 3, 2023. (AP)
Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis signed more death warrants last year than any Florida governor since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. Before that, the highest number in a single year was eight in 1984 and 2014 under governors Bob Graham and Rick Scott, respectively.
Court records show Fort Pierce Police Officer Danny Parrish stopped Kearse in January 1991 for driving the wrong way on a one-way street. After Kearse failed to produce a valid driver’s license and resisted being handcuffed, a struggle broke out.
During the confrontation, Kearse grabbed Parrish’s firearm and fired 14 shots, striking the officer nine times and hitting his body armor four times, prosecutors said. A nearby taxi driver heard the gunfire and used Parrish’s radio to call for help.
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This photo shows a gurney used in giving lethal injections to convicted death row inmates. (Sue Ogrocki, File)
Parrish was taken to a hospital, where he died from his wounds.
Investigators used license plate information Parrish had radioed in before the struggle to identify Kearse’s vehicle and home address. He was arrested shortly afterward.
Last week, the Florida Supreme Court denied Kearse’s appeals, in which his attorneys argued he was deprived of a fair penalty phase and that his intellectual disability made him ineligible for execution. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected his final appeal Tuesday without comment.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. (Octavio Jones/Getty Images)
A total of 47 people were executed in the U.S. last year. Florida carried out the most, outpacing Texas, South Carolina and Alabama, which each conducted five executions.
Two more executions are scheduled in Florida this month. Michael Lee King, 54, is set to be executed March 17. James Aren Duckett, 68, is scheduled for March 31.
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Duckett, a former police officer, was convicted in 1987 of raping and murdering 11-year-old Teresa McAbee. At the time, he was working for the Mascotte Police Department when McAbee was last seen getting into his patrol car outside a convenience store. Her body was later found less than a mile away in a lake. Authorities said she had been sexually battered, strangled and drowned.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Southeast
Violent repeat offender accused in Charlotte knife attack was free despite decade-long rap sheet
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A North Carolina man accused of stabbing another individual in broad daylight has faced more than 18 criminal charges over the past decade, including assault-related cases and a domestic-violence conviction, before the latest violent incident, court records show.
Micah Emmanuel Ragin, 31, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury after a Feb. 28 altercation in east Charlotte.
According to police, officers responded to a 911 call reporting an assault involving a knife. When they arrived, they found a man with a stab wound to a knee. Investigators say the suspect discarded a bag and the knife into a nearby creek and then boarded a city bus as it left the area.
Authorities later located the bus and identified Ragin as the suspect after reviewing transit security footage. Officers recovered a kitchen knife from the creek in the area shown on video. During an interview, police said Ragin admitted to being involved in a physical altercation but did not acknowledge the stabbing.
Micah Emmanuel Ragin, 31, was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury in Charlotte, N.C. (Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office)
A review of North Carolina court records shows Ragin’s interactions with law enforcement date back to at least 2015 and span multiple counties.
In 2016, he pleaded guilty to violating a domestic violence protective order, receiving a 24-day jail sentence and a court-ordered no-contact condition.
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In prior years, he was charged in separate cases with assault on a female, assault on a campus police officer, communicating threats and resisting a public officer. Several of those cases were ultimately dismissed, including multiple charges in 2019 that court records state were “unable to prosecute due to COVID-19 court closures.”
Records also show misdemeanor drug and trespass convictions.
Altogether, court records indicate Ragin has faced more than 18 charges in several counties over multiple years before the current felony accusation.
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The alleged stabbing comes months after the fatal killing of a young woman aboard a Charlotte light rail train, a case that drew national attention and intensified debate over repeat offenders and pandemic-era criminal justice policies.
Iryna Zarutska cowers as her attacker towers over her. (NewsNation via Charlotte Area Transit System)
That earlier case involved a defendant who was under state supervision at the time of the attack and prompted scrutiny of a 2021 COVID-era prison settlement negotiated during former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration. The agreement authorized the early release or transition of approximately 3,500 incarcerated individuals. Republican officials claimed the agreement released dangerous offenders, while state officials have said the settlement primarily targeted medically vulnerable and nonviolent inmates.
State corrections officials have also said the light rail defendant was not released early as a result of that settlement and had completed his mandatory minimum sentence, though his name appeared on a settlement-related list due to retroactive eligibility criteria.
Republican officials have argued the cases reflect broader concerns about repeat offenders cycling through the system, while Democrats have defended pandemic-era decisions as necessary public health measures.
REPEAT OFFENDER ALLEGEDLY ASSAULTS HOSPITAL POLICE OFFICER JUST DAYS AFTER ARREST AT SAME FACILITY: REPORT
Republican Michael Whatley, left, and Democrat Roy Cooper (Getty Images)
“Micah Ragin was arrested and let back onto the streets 18 times too many — including under then-Governor Roy Cooper’s COVID mass inmate release,” Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“Have Charlotte’s pro-crime Democrats learned nothing from Iryna’s tragic murder? How many victims will it take to finally keep criminals behind bars? The Queen City has been stained by crimes that are preventable — they are lucky this wasn’t the next Iryna Zarutska.”
Nick Puglia, regional press secretary for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, echoed similar criticism.
“Yet again, Roy Cooper’s soft-on-crime policies allowed a violent career criminal to roam free, resulting in a vicious attack. Cooper coddles criminals and North Carolinians pay the price,” Puglia said.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Michael Whatley criticized what he described as “soft-on-crime” policies.
“Criminals belong behind bars. As a senator, I will always back the blue and fight to keep our communities safe,” Whatley said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Cooper, who previously served two terms as North Carolina’s governor and is now running for the U.S. Senate, has defended his record on public safety and pushed back on Republican criticism.
“Violence of any kind is unacceptable, and we must keep North Carolinians safe,” a spokesperson for Cooper’s campaign said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “These Republican attacks are false – Roy Cooper is the only candidate who spent his career prosecuting violent criminals and keeping thousands of them behind bars as attorney general, and signing tough-on-crime laws and stricter pretrial release bail policy as governor.”
Cooper’s campaign has previously defended pandemic-era decisions as necessary public health measures and has denied that COVID-related policies led to the early release of dangerous offenders.
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Ragin’s felony case is pending, and officials have not announced a trial date.
Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.
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