The Federal Bureau of Investigation is joining the investigation into the racially charged vandalism that took place early Sunday at the University of Mississippi.
An FBI spokeswoman told the New York Times on Tuesday that federal agents are working with university police in the pursuit of two men believed to be responsible for the defacement of a statue honoring James Meredith, the first black student admitted to Ole Miss.
A noose and a flag showing the “stars and bars” of the Confederacy were placed on the statue approximately between 6:30 and 7 a.m. on Sunday.
A contractor who was performing maintenance at the school’s library at the time said he saw two white males in camouflage attire shouting racial epithets, although he did not see the individuals at the statue.
University Police Chief Calvin Sellers told TPM on Tuesday that the investigation will be difficult.
He said that surveillance footage hasn’t shown much, and that a camera situated at the main entrance to the campus likely will not produce a definitive image of the suspects if they were moving on foot.
