University of Mississippi police discovered a noose had been tied around the neck of on-campus statue James Meredith - the first black student to attend the former all-white school.
The FBI reportedly lent a hand for Tuesday's investigation, which launched after campus officials found the rope, along with a Georgia state flag adorned with the Confederate "stars and bars," the Associated Press reported.
Ole Miss police Chief Calvin Sellers told AP that officials found the display on Sunday morning. Two unidentified men were spotted standing close to the statue shortly before the noose appeared.
Law enforcement officials are reportedly reviewing on-campus cameras as part of the investigation.
Mississippi NAACP president Derrick Johnson called the event a "racial hate crime," during a press conference at the Capitol.
"At what level do they get prosecuted?" he asked the crowd of reporters and bystanders assembled at the meeting. "I don't know. But as long as we tolerate hate, we will continue to revisit history and the past of this state, and at some point, we must move forward."
Chancellor of the school Dan Jones released a statement on the matter this week.
"These individuals chose our university's most visible symbol of unity and educational accessibility to express their disagreement with our values," Jones wrote. "Their ideas have no place here, and our response will be an even greater commitment to promoting the values that are engraved on the statue - Courage, Knowledge, Opportunity and Perseverance."
But for Mississippi FBI spokesperson Deborah R. Madden, there's a larger problem on campus.
"You cannot have a university where, when you turn down the main drag, it's called Confederate Drive," she said, in reference to a large street near the school. "At some point, we're going to have to reverse course on the image of Ole Miss so we can reverse course on the image of the state of Mississippi."
According to AP, the Ole Miss Alumni Association will give $25,000 for any leading information on the crime.
