Fraternity closed after noose-tying incident

A national fraternity group has closed its University of Mississippi chapter after three members were accused of tying a noose around the neck of a statue of the first black student to enroll in the then-all white Southern college.

The university announced Thursday that the national office of Sigma Phi Epsilon, based in Richmond, Va., had closed its Ole Miss chapter.

The names of the three students haven't been released.

They were kicked out of the fraternity.

Besides the noose, someone draped a pre-2003 Georgia state flag with a Confederate battle emblem in its design on the face of the James Meredith statue in the pre-dawn hours of a Sunday morning in February.

Ole Miss spokesman Tom Eppes says the students face university disciplinary proceedings and the FBI is investigating.