JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Justice Department says a former University of Mississippi student has been indicted on federal charges connected to a noose being put on a statue of the student who integrated the school.

The noose was placed on the James Meredith statue on the Ole Miss campus in Oxford in February 2014. In 1962, Meredith was the first black student admitted to the university.

Graeme Phillip Harris of Alpharetta, Georgia, has been indicted on one count of conspiracy to violate civil rights and one count of using a threat of force to intimidate African-American students because of their race or color.

It wasn't immediately clear Friday whether Harris had an attorney.

Meredith, 81, tells The Associated Press it's a shame that Mississippi had to rely on federal authorities to prosecute the case.
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(Photo: Thomas Graning, The Daily Mississippian/AP Photo)