A University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) student who protected the American flag during recent pro-Palestinian protests originally grew up in Russia.
Earlier this week, a number of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity members and students at UNC went viral on social media after they were seen protecting an American flag amid ongoing pro-Palestinian protests on the campus.
According to Fox News Digital, one of the students who was seen protecting the flag was identified as Dan Stompel, a junior at UNC studying political science.
On his LinkedIn account, Stompel states that he was born in South Carolina but moved to Russia shortly after. "I've called the U.S. home since 2009 and broadened my worldview through high school in Israel," Stompel wrote on his about page.
Over the past several weeks, pro-Palestinian protests have broken out at a number of different college campuses, including UNC, Columbia University, Yale University, George Washington University and the University of California, Los Angeles.
Tensions across college campuses have remained high since October 7, 2023, when the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel that left 1,200 people dead and saw over 200 more taken hostage. More than 34,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza since the war began, The Associated Press reported, citing local health officials.
At UNC, pro-Palestinian protesters replaced the U.S. flag on the campus's main quad, with a Palestinian flag, sparking clashes between protestors and counter-protestors amid wider demonstrations.
Brothers of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity stepped in to ensure the American flag did not touch the ground as they faced verbal insults, according to footage circulating on social media. Video captures the students holding the flag while being targeted by a group of protestors hurling objects at them.
Shortly after videos of the incident went viral on social media, a GoFundMe page was created titled "Pi Kappa Phi Men Defended their Flag. Throw 'em a Rager."
"Commie losers across the country have invaded college campuses to make dumb demands of weak University Administrators," the GoFundMe page said. "But amid the chaos, the screaming, the antisemitism, the hatred of faith and flag, stood a platoon of American heroes...These boys... no, men, of the UNC Chapel Hill Pi Kappa Phi, gave the best to America and now they deserve the best."
As of Thursday afternoon, the GoFundMe page had raised over $390,000, nearing its goal of $400,000.
Stompel spoke with Fox News Digital earlier this week about the incident saying, "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. It was exhausting. It was a beautiful moment."
Stompel said that he made a joke while protecting the flag saying that he'd "die for this flag."
"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," he said.
Newsweek has reached out to the UNC Pi Kappa Phi fraternity via email for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more
