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Three University of Mississippi students have been suspended from their fraternity house and may be investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice after they posed with guns in front of a vandalized sign honoring a late civil rights icon.
One of the students had posted the picture to his private Instagram account, ProPublica reported. The sign, which was marred by bullet holes in the photo, commemorates Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black boy who was tortured and murdered in 1955. The two white men accused of the murder were acquitted.
ProPublica reported that it was unclear whether the students shot the sign.
Kappa Alpha fraternity suspended the trio on Wednesday after news outlets contacted the university about the photo. A university spokesman told ProPublica the institution received a copy of the photo in March, when it was originally taken.
The university referred the matter to its police department, which in turn contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to ProPublica.
