PITTSBORO — Two non-Chatham County residents were cited for a fight this past Saturday morning during competing protests in Pittsboro surrounding the fate of the “Our Confederate Heroes” monument.
Woody Weaver Jr., 64, of Fuquay-Varina, and Devin Ceartas, 52, of Chapel Hill, were both cited with simple affray and have court dates scheduled for November 6, according to reports from the Pittsboro Police Department.
According to the reports, the pair were “observed participating in an affray during a demonstration at 90 East Street.” The address is listed as the location of the Breakout Martial Arts & Fitness building near the downtown Pittsboro circle, but the parking lot has been the staging ground for pro-monument protesters during recent weekends.
A video shared on social media by the Chatham County Line likely showed the incident. In the video, Ceartas appears to be yelling profanities at a woman holding a Confederate flag when Weaver comes over. Weaver leans his face in Ceartas’ face, after which Ceartas wrestles Weaver to the ground before the video ends.
The incident, according to the arrest reports, occurred at 11:25 a.m. on Saturday.
Weaver has been a presence at recent meetings of the Chatham County Board of Commissioners, including the August 19 meeting when the board voted 4-1 to end the county’s agreement with the Winnie Davis Chapel of the UDC to locate the monument on county property.
During the public comment section of that meeting, Weaver came up to the podium and said he wanted “non-Chatham media” outlets to “turn up” their cameras.
“I have my rights,” he said. “I’ll see you in court.”
Since the meeting is public, the cameras did not stop filming. Weaver then went on to berate the board for the impending decision.
“You cannot take that monument down,” he said. “You cannot take it down because you do not like it.”
He then pointed to Commissioner Jim Crawford, saying without providing evidence, “You have shown extreme bias in this session right here.”
Ceartas is not listed as speaking at any commissioners’ meeting.
The Pittsboro Police Department reported that another man, Robert White Jr., 72, of Siler City, was arrested and charged with assault on a law enforcement officer and disorderly conduct. He was released on a written promise.
Reporter Zachary Horner can be reached at zhorner@chathamnr.com or on Twitter at @ZachHornerCNR.