Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has announced that he is sending Chick-fil-A to counter-protesters at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) on Saturday in support of a group of young men who stood up against pro-Palestinian protesters on campus.
Graham expressed his admiration for the young men’s courage in protecting the American flag and showing their love for America. As a gesture of appreciation, he offered to treat them to Chick-fil-A.
The incident that sparked Graham’s gesture occurred on Tuesday when members of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity stopped an American flag from touching the ground during a protest on campus.
Lindsey Graham (Credits: The Hill)
The fraternity members were seen holding up the flag as activists threw things at them, and their actions quickly went viral on social media. A GoFundMe page was set up to raise money for the fraternity brothers, to throw them a party, and it has already raised over $500,000.
Country music artist John Rich has also offered to play a free concert at the party, saying he is proud of the young men for standing up for their beliefs. Billionaire Bill Ackman, who has expressed his distaste for recent pro-Palestinian protests, donated $10,000 to the GoFundMe page.
The protests at UNC are part of a larger wave of protests that have broken out on college campuses across the country in recent weeks, focused on Palestinian human rights and the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza despite the Israel-Hamas war.
Lindsey Graham (Credits: Newsweek)
However, the protests have also faced accusations of antisemitism, which protesters have pushed back against, saying that they reject any form of hate or bigotry and stand vigilant against attempts to disrupt the solidarity being forged among students.
In a statement, protest leaders at Columbia University said that they are frustrated by media distractions focusing on inflammatory individuals who do not represent them and that a politically motivated mob has misidentified their members.
They emphasized that they firmly reject any form of hate or bigotry and stand in solidarity with Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, Jewish, Black, and pro-Palestinian classmates and colleagues who represent the full diversity of their country.
