Members of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill went viral this week for safeguarding an American flag from Gaza encampment protesters, with members of the brotherhood telling the public that they could not stand to see Old Glory defaced.

The protesters had replaced the American flag, which was at half-mast to honor four Charlotte police officers killed while serving a warrant, with a Palestinian flag, after which several dozen fraternity brothers protected the Stars and Stripes for over an hour before police could once more hoist the banner. The students faced hostility from the protesters, who started throwing water bottles, rocks, and other objects at them, as well as shouting profanity.

Alex Jones, one of the fraternity brothers photographed helping to keep the American flag above the ground in viral photos, said on social media that his decision to protect the banner was “not about any other nation” but about “the importance of our country.”

"For me, protecting the flag was not about taking a stance within the ongoing Israel-Palestine discourse. I recognize the pain and suffering experienced by both sides of that conflict,” Jones remarked. “I owe everything to the hard work of my parents and this great nation, and I am proud to be among those who stood up for it yesterday. I am proud to be an American.”

As photos of the students went viral on social media, an online fundraiser to “throw this frat the party they deserve” earned nearly $450,000 as of Thursday afternoon to honor the “platoon of American heroes” who were “armored in Vineyard Vines and Patagonia, fueled by Zyn and White Claws.”

Dan Stompel, another Pi Kappa Phi member who defended the flag, remarked in an interview that the fraternity brothers mutually agreed they would “die for this flag.”

“If they got any closer, we're going to start throwing hands. We're not going anywhere, I don't care,” he said. “They're going to have to tear me off this flag over my dead body.”

Stompel said that their arms became sore after the prolonged period of holding the banner: “It was like an ‘arm day’ for me that day. There was no gym happening that day afterwards.” The student added that there is “nothing more patriotic, nothing more genuine, nothing more inspiring” than “nice, normal, strong boys protecting America’s flag.”

The protests in favor of Gaza have produced tumult at schools across the country, with students erecting tents on their campuses and in some instances forcefully taking over buildings, provoking police responses and hundreds of arrests in recent weeks. Administrators have been criticized for allowing the protesters to become violent in some instances.