Two men suspected of hanging a life-sized likeness of Barack Obama from a tree on the campus of the University of Kentucky were arrested Thursday.
The incident was one of several in recent weeks involving effigies of the presidential candidates or their running mates. No charges have been filed in four other cases that have made national headlines.
UK Interim Police Chief Joe Monroe told The Associated Press that the men "expressed remorse for a stunt that had gotten out of hand."
Joe Fischer, 22, a UK student, and Hunter Bush, 21, both of Lexington, were being held at Fayette County Detention Center on charges of disorderly conduct related to the hanging of the effigy. They were also charged with burglary and theft at a fraternity house where police said the materials came from.
Lt. Tina Strange, a deputy jailer at the detention center, said Fischer and Bush were being held on $7,600 bond.
Monroe said the men told detectives they decided to hang the effigy after seeing media reports about a Sarah Palin effigy in California.
In that incident, the FBI and local police said they would not investigate the Palin effigy, which was hanging in the yard of a West Hollywood man, because it was part of a Halloween display. After several weeks of complaints, the man removed the effigy on Wednesday.
Los Angeles authorities did not immediately respond to a request by FOXNews.com for comment.
Witnesses who saw the Obama effigy in Lexington said it was life-sized with an Obama Halloween mask, a suit jacket and sweat pants. It was found hanging from a tree with a noose around its neck.
UK police did not immediately respond to FOXNews.com's request for comment.
UK President Lee Todd said the effigy violated the university's code of ethics, and Fischer faces punishment that could include expulsion.
"As outrageous and offensive an act as the effigy was, I truly believe it has mobilized our campus, the community and the state in an effort to battle racism," Todd said Thursday.
It was the second time in about a month that an Obama effigy created a stir on a college campus. George Fox University, a small Christian college in Oregon, recently punished four students who confessed to hanging a likeness of Obama from a tree.
In Redondo Beach, Calif., a woman removed a Halloween effigy of Obama that was hanging from her balcony with a butcher knife in its neck. She took it down Thursday after neighbors complained.
And in Clarksville, Ind., a man who had hanged an inflatable doll made to look like Obama from a tree took it down Wednesday. Authorities said the display didn't appear to violate any state laws.
FOX News' Catherine Donaldson Evans and The Associated Press contributed to this report.