Student arrested in destruction of flag

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Police at the University of Missouri have arrested a student suspected of destroying a Confederate flag in a dorm room.

Dave Sierpina, 18, of Aurora, Ill., was arrested on suspicion of second-degree burglary and property damage.

Police Capt. Brian Weimer said Tuesday that Sierpina had been visiting friends around Nov. 3 when the second-floor room of Matt Pitts and Joe Naumann was vandalized.

The intruder tossed a television from a window and shredded a 3-foot-by-4-foot Confederate flag that was hanging inside a window. Pitts and Naumann have replaced the destroyed banner with another.

that is visible from outside their room.

The banner had become a point of contention in the residence hall. Passers-by sometimes shouted insults from the street, and neighbors asked university officials to remove it.

Pitts and Naumann were unmoved, arguing the flag symbolized Southern heritage.

Despite the conflict, Pitts and Naumann left their door unlocked when leaving the room on the night of Nov. 3. Weimer said the culprit entered through an unlocked door.

Weimer declined to discuss Sierpina's alleged motivation but said the investigation determined he was not motivated by "race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation or disability," all classes that are federally protected from discrimination.

Sierpina was released from the Boone County Jail on a $6,000 bond.