Marine accused of trespassing during rally to be discharged

BURLINGTON, N.C. – One of two U.S. Marines charged with trespassing during a rally at a Confederate monument in North Carolina is being discharged from the Corps.

The Times-News of Burlington reports public information officer Capt. Joshua Pena said Camp Lejeune-based Staff Sgt. Joseph W. Manning is being processed for discharge based on his arrest on May 20.

Manning and 35-year-old Marine Sgt. Michael Joseph Chesny, who is stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, were arrested in Graham. Police say they climbed on top of a building prior to a Confederate Memorial Day rally and unfurled a banner which read, in part, “YWNRU,” which stands for “You will not replace us,” the slogan chanted by demonstrators in Charlottesville, Virginia, protesting the removal of a Confederate monument.

Chesny’s status isn’t known.

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Information from: Times-News, http://www.thetimesnews.com