HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. (AP) - The Latest on the trial of a University of North Carolina student accused of vandalizing a Confederate monument (all times local):
5:30 p.m.
A judge has declined to punish a University of North Carolina graduate student who admitted to splashing red ink on a Confederate statue on campus last April.
Orange County Judge Samantha Cabe noted that Maya Little had admitted to the crime on the stand and that the facts showed she was guilty of the misdemeanor charge of defacing a public monument. But Cabe used a North Carolina judicial maneuver known as a “continued judgment” to essentially withhold the guilty verdict after hearing impassioned testimony about how Little and others struggled with the statue’s Confederate symbolism.
Judges are allowed the option for certain minor crimes. Little’s defense attorney Scott Holmes described the outcome as similar to a tie.
Cabe also waived court fees and restitution.
The statue was torn down by protesters in August. Little doesn’t face charges in the toppling of the statue.
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noon
A judge has ruled the University of North Carolina’s chancellor doesn’t have to testify at the trial of a woman accused of pouring red ink on a Confederate statue that was later torn down by protesters.
Maya Little’s trial on a misdemeanor count of defacing a public monument began Monday with the judge watching video of her pouring red ink on the statue known as Silent Sam last April. The statue was torn down by protesters in August. Little isn’t among those charged with toppling the statue.
Defense lawyers sought to force Chancellor Carol Folt and campus Police Chief Jeff McCracken to testify.
Orange County judge Samantha Cabe denied the request, saying other witnesses have more direct knowledge of the charge against Little.
Testimony was scheduled to resume Monday afternoon.
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