A student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who was captured in a viral photo spoke about how he and his classmates protected the United States flag from being destroyed by pro-Palestinian protesters.

Dan Stompel recalled how he and his fellow counterprotesters would alert each other of incoming objects being thrown at them. The students protected the flag for one hour, with Stompel saying that their hands and arms were hurting by the end, joking that he skipped the gym for the day.