UNC Chapel Hill frat boy seen shielding Old Glory from pro Palestine protesters speaks out: 'I would have protected the flag with my dead body from this Marxist horde'

One of University of North Carolina fraternity brothers who was seen guarding the US flag from pro-Palestine protesters says he would've protected it with his life.

A few dozen members of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity took it upon themselves to shield the flag on Tuesday at UNC Chapel Hill where protesters at one point replaced it with the Palestinian flag.

Dan Stompel, a political science student at the school, told Fox News he and other fraternity brothers held the flag up for over an hour until police arrived to clear the hundreds of protesters.

The junior said: 'I was like, "I’d die for this flag." And everybody was like, "Yeah." If they got any closer that we're going to start throwing hands. We're not going anywhere, I don't care. They're going to have to tear me off this flag over my dead body.'

Stompel claimed that as he shielded the flag, protesters tried to intimidate them and began throwing objects at them.

One of University of North Carolina fraternity brothers who was seen protecting the US flag from pro-Palestine protesters says he would've protected it with his life

Dan Stompel, a political science student at the school, told Fox News he and other fraternity brothers held the flag up for over an hour until police arrived to clear protesters

After footage of the frat brothers went viral, a GoFundMe was set up to throw them a party

'We're looking at every direction. If stuff was flying in, we would say, "Heads up.’" We would cover each other. We would look out for other people… 

'And it did hurt our arms. It was like an ‘arm day’ [workout] for me that day. There was no gym happening that day afterwards. It was exhausting. It was beautiful moment.'

The student added: 'It shows that, …based on the people there, nice, normal, strong boys protecting America's flag. There's nothing more patriotic, nothing more genuine, nothing more inspiring than that.'

After footage of the frat brothers went viral, a GoFundMe was set up to throw them a party. As of Thursday morning, it has collected more than $330,123, with billionaire Bill Ackman donating $10,000.

'These boys... no, men, of the UNC Chapel Hill Pi Kappa Phi, gave the best to America and now they deserve the best,' the GoFundMe reads.

'Help us raise funds to throw this frat the party they deserve, a party worth of the boat-shoed Broleteriat who did their country proud.'

Guillermo Estrada, another of the young men seen shielding the flag, said the day had been 'sad yet empowering,' and that he had become upset after seeing the Palestinian flag raised on campus.

Another frat member, Alex Jones, said on X: 'For me, protecting the flag was not about taking a stance within the ongoing Israel-Palestine discourse'

Fraternity brother Guillermo Estrada said the day had been 'sad yet empowering,' and he had become upset after seeing the Palestinian flag raised

Meanwhile Brendan Rosenblum, a Junior, told On Balance With Leland Vittert that 'it was important that I stood there with the Israeli flag because Israel and America work side by side'

He wrote: 'I cannot say I am fully educated on the Israel/Palestine conflict but it upset me that my country's flag was disrespected in order to advocate for another.

'Shortly after, Chancellor Roberts came with police officers to hang the flag once again. They were met with profanity, middle fingers, thrown bottles, rocks, and water.

'When the flag was raised once again, the Greek community began singing the National anthem. As the Chancellor left, the quad erupted into chaos as protestors began removing the flag once again, preparing to destroy it. 

'My fraternity brother and others ran over to hold it up, in order for it not to touch the ground. People began throwing water bottles at us, rocks, sticks, calling us profane names. We stood for an hour defending the flag so many fight to protect. 

'My parents started a new life in the United States, a country that has helped them flourish and raise two kids. I grew up in a Military community and saw first hand the sacrifices they make. I will not stand for the disrespect these "protestors"  cause for the sake of another country. 

'My LDOC will be memorable in knowing that my fraternity brothers and others fought to keep the flag up. But it was also be memorable in knowing that so many yearn to disrespect it. 

Footage emerged on social media showing the group of male students holding onto the stars and stripes during a protest on Tuesday

Pro-Palestine groups lobbed bottles of water at the group who clutched the flag as they were screamed at by masked protestors

Despite the best efforts of the hardy group, the protestors eventually managed to hoist the Palestine flag on the Chapel Hill campus

Another frat member, Alex Jones, said on X: 'For me, protecting the flag was not about taking a stance within the ongoing Israel-Palestine discourse.

'I recognize the pain and suffering experienced by both sides of that conflict. But my decision yesterday to protect the flag of the United States was not about any other nation. It was simply about the importance of our country and the values we believe in. 

'I believe in the right to free speech and peaceful protest. I am honored to give back to the nation that has given me and my family countless opportunities. 

'I owe everything to the hard work of my parents and this great nation, and I am proud to be among those who stood up for it yesterday. I am proud to be an American.'

Meanwhile Brendan Rosenblum, a Junior, told On Balance With Leland Vittert that 'it was important that I stood there with the Israeli flag because Israel and America work side by side.'

Rosenblum added: 'Fraternity members get a bad rap, but in the end, we have a brotherhood and a belief of who we are. All of us felt that America and the American flag and, for me, the Israeli flag represented what we believe in. 

'And we weren't going to let anyone stop us from keeping those two things up and representing for what we believe in.'

Despite the massive support they have received, some have pointed to a video that shows some of the fraternity members appear to call a female protesters a wh*** as they instruct her to 'lose some weight.'

Despite the massive support they have received, some have pointed to a video that shows some of the fraternity members appear to call a female protesters a wh*** as they instruct her to 'lose some weight'

Pi Kappa Phi was founded in 1904 in Charleston, South Carolina by Andrew Kroeg, Simon Fogarty and Harry Mixson and now has more than 120,000 members across the country.

Following the chaos on the Chapel Hill campus, classes were canceled for the rest of the day and non-mandatory operations were suspended.

Police had moved in to clear out an encampment and detained some of the protestors in a tense showdown.

The Daily Tar Heel reported that 36 people protestors were detained within the encampment.

Six of those 36 were later arrested and transported to the local magistrate's office, the outlet said, with all six charged trespassing before being released. The university said three of those arrested had been students, while the other three were not affiliated with the school.

In a statement Roberts said: 'For the last several months, we have spoken regularly and respectfully with the demonstrators on our campus, consistently supporting their right to assemble and express their views.

'We have been clear that students and community members can assemble and make their voices heard, but University policies must be followed.

'During events in recent weeks, the student demonstrators abided by our policies.

'That changed Sunday evening when protesters - including outside activists -- backtracked on their commitment to comply with these policies, including trespassing into classroom buildings overnight.

'This group has now made it clear they will no longer even consider our requests to abide by University policies and have ended our attempts at constructive dialogue.'

In a similar fashion, police in New York City restored the American flag after protestors at City College of New York raised a Palestine flag on the campus.

Footage taken on the ground shows one officer tossing the flag aside before later raising Old Glory on the flagpole.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday morning, Mayor Eric Adams berated the schools for allowing the flying of the flag.

He said: 'That's our flag folks, it might be fine to some people but not to me. My uncle died defending this country.

'It's despicable that schools will allow another country's flag to fly in our country. So blame me for being proud to be American. We are not surrendering our way of life.'