Thread: UNC Tancredo Protestor Faces Court Date (with Poll)

Koch faces court date

Arrested during April 14 protest

Andrew Harrell, University Editor
Published: Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Updated: Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Senior Haley Koch, the only person to be arrested so far for last month’s protest of former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., has jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Who started the fire is still up for debate, with University police and protestors placing the blame on each other for escalating the situation.

Koch said she will be keeping her Morehead-Cain scholarship after meeting with Morehead-Cain Foundation Director Chuck Lovelace to discuss what took place and her role in the April 14 protest.

Now, Koch faces a court date Monday after being arrested nine days after the protest for disturbing the peace.

Meanwhile, the University’s Department of Public Safety is in the middle of an internal review sparked by a formal complaint submitted by students.

Koch and the authors of the complaint have said that what was a peaceful demonstration was escalated by the police’s use of pepper spray and pushing students down and grabbing them by the hair.

University police have said their use of pepper spray on students and the discharge of a Taser as a warning were necessitated by the rowdy nature of the protest, which culminated in a broken window in the Bingham Hall classroom where the speech was to be held.

Randy Young, spokesman for DPS, was unable to comment on the internal investigation other than the fact that it is ongoing.

Young said Koch was arrested once the investigation yielded information from sources such as video and photos of the event that implicated her.

Koch and another student stood with a banner in the front of the classroom where Tancredo had been invited to speak on immigration by the campus group Youth for Western Civilization, shouting over Tancredo so he was unable to speak.

Although he was unable to comment further on the protest investigation because it too is ongoing, Young added that further arrests of the more than 100 protestors are still possible.

Koch said she had faith in the Morehead-Cain Foundation and couldn’t have imagined her scholarship being revoked although she acknowledged they had every right to initiate a conversation.

But she did say she was shocked and astonished by the reactions of DPS and the University, citing Thorp’s apology to Tancredo and her arrest outside a campus classroom.

Other reactions to the protest have varied. Koch said they have ranged from letters written by incoming UNC students thanking her for her part in the protest to death threats on the Internet from what she defines as hate groups and white supremacists.

She said she expects at least a hundred students to be present at a protest outside the courthouse at noon Monday, including leaders of various campus organizations.

“It’s an opportunity to raise the issue and also call for the charges to be dropped,â€

What did you think of the protest at Tancredo's speech?

It was justified/appropriate, and I agree with all the protestors' actions
8 % (184)

It was justified/appropriate, but ultimately got out of hand 31 % (745)

It was not justified / It shouldn't have happened 57 % (1364)

Other 2 % (46)

I don't know 2 % (39)

Total number of votes: 2378

Other reactions to the protest have varied. Koch said they have ranged from letters written by incoming UNC students thanking her for her part in the protest to death threats on the Internet from what she defines as hate groups and white supremacists.

What a stupid, stupid racist girl. So anyone who disagrees with her is label a "white" supremacist or part of a hate group? How does she know that all these people are white?

What did you think of the protest at Tancredo's speech?
It was justified/appropriate, and I agree with all the protestors' actions 8 % (184)
It was justified/appropriate, but ultimately got out of hand 31 % (745)
It was not justified / It shouldn't have happened 57 % (1365)
Other 2 % (46)
I don't know 2 % (39)

Total number of votes: 2379