A group of UNC-Chapel Hill fraternity brothers, having gone viral earlier this year for holding up and protecting the American flag after pro-Palestinian protestors tore it down during a protest on campus in April, were spotlighted Wednesday night at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The “frat boys” were profiled in a series of news clips before they spoke about their actions on campus that day.

“When a mob tried to take down the American flag on our campus, we knew we couldn’t let that happen,” UNC-Chapel Hill student and fraternity brother Alex Johnson told the audience. “We stood guard, we held it up and we did not let it fall. It was all about respect, not just for the cloth but for everything that the flag stands for. Too many people have sacrificed everything for it and the least we could do was keep it flying, and tonight, we are proud to honor our flag again.”

UNC-Chapel Hill Interim Chancellor Lee Roberts was also credited during the events in April for walking across the quad, surrounded by law enforcement officers, and putting the flag back up.

Lee Roberts, interim chancellor of UNC Chapel Hill, walking with campus police towards a flagpole to take down the Palestinian flag put up by protesters and put the American flag back up. Source: screenshot from video posted on The Daily Tar Heel X account. Used by fair use.

Before speaking, Johnson told NewsNation that the biggest takeaway from their actions is that it is foolish not to be patriotic and proud of your nation.

“That doesn’t mean you should just blindly follow and not be critical of it,” he said. “If you love something, you should be critical of it. So, I think being able to respect the symbol of the nation, which gives you the right to protest, is critical for any American.”

Another student identified as Ken told NewsNation that when the group was holding up the flag, he was thinking about his godfather who had served 20 years in the Air Force, and how he had the utmost respect for him and his service and he didn’t want to see the flag disrespected like that.

Pi Kappa Phi fraternity brothers holding up the American flag at UNC-Chapel Hill. Source: Screenshot from US Sen. Ted Budd, R-NC, YouTube page.

According to the student media organization The Daily Tar Heel, a GoFundMe was created to reward the UNC fraternity brothers of Pi Kappa Phi, Alpha Epsilon Pi, and other fraternities with a party called Flagstock, which raised over $500,000.

Excess funds are set to benefit military families and veterans, as well as a pro-law enforcement group and a fraternity organization. 

The party will be held on Labor Day and is invite-only. Country music artist John Rich will perform along with other entertainment.