The student said she would give her life to defend the country
North Carolina student ‘in shock’ after students tear down American flag
Hailey, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student, describes witnessing anti-Israel activists tearing down the American flag in an interview with Fox News Digital.
A student who held up her own American flag at a North Carolina campus Tuesday, after an anti-Israel mob desecrated an American flag flying on campus, said she would die for Old Glory.
Anti-Israel protesters targeted the American flag on the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's quad — which had been flying at half-mast after four Charlotte officers were killed in the line of duty. At one point, they replaced it with a Palestinian flag – enraging students and inspiring members from the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity to take action.
"I definitely was emotionally a little bit shaken," said UNC student named Hailey, whose last name is being withheld for security reasons. "I was like, I cannot believe my eyes that we as a country are at a place where the American flag is being replaced by Palestinian flag. I was just in shock."
Until the flag was restored, Hailey and another student held up another American flag – so that there was always one waving on the campus quad despite the attempts from anti-Israel agitators to remove the symbol.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill student named Hailey speaks with Fox News Digital about standing up for American flag. (Credit: Hailey)
"I stood... holding an American flag as they were taking it down. It was the most shocking thing I think I have ever seen in my life," she said. "I just felt so patriotic. I felt so proud of my country and proud of the Americans who are standing beside me, who are holding the flag with me, who are willing to stand out and protect it. And like, I would give my life to protect that flag. I would give my life to protect America in a heartbeat. And. I was willing to do that that day."
Facing down the mob of agitators, the student said, "I was kind of afraid. Like my heart was beating really fast. My hands were shaking a little bit. And I was definitely nervous."
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At the time, the mob pelted Hailey and the frat boys with objects like water bottles, rocks, sticks and "chicken broth balloons."
"I definitely had projectiles thrown at me many times," Hailey recalled. "There were water bottles flying everywhere. I think they were like chicken broth balloons. People would smell like chicken broth for a long time… I know a couple of kids had rocks and sticks thrown at them. One of my friends got hit with a water bottle and had, like, a gash under his eye."
Ultimately, it was about the principle of standing up for America in the face of hate that inspired Hailey's action, she said.
"This was about the honor of America," she said.
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)
Liora Rez, the executive director of StopAntisemitism watchdog group, said that students disrespecting the American flag should find another place to live if they hate the U.S. so much.
"If you are a student on an American campus and feel free to destroy or remove the flag, we urge you to renounce your visa or citizenship and relocate elsewhere. Millions around the world would be thrilled to take your place in this great nation," Rez said.
A GoFundMe created for Chapel Hill's Pi Kappa Phi chapter, who held up the flag stripped off the pole by agitators, raised more than $446,095 as of Thursday afternoon "to throw this frat the party they deserve."
"Commie losers across the country have invaded college campuses to make dumb demands of weak University Administrators," the GoFundMe page said. "But amidst the chaos, the screaming, the anti-semitism, the hatred of faith and flag, stood a platoon of American heroes… [who] protected Old Glory from the unwashed Marxist horde."
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)
Hailey said that most students gave a general annoyance about the protests on campus as the demonstrations have interfered with people's studies.
"It's been really hard to study for finals, really hard to focus and concentrate," she said. "I definitely acknowledge people's right to have free speech, and I think that people should be able to protest. However, the fact that they are really disrupting normal university operations is the problem. And it's really it's been a disruption to my learning experience here."
Hannah Grossman is a Reporter at Fox News Digital.
