A sixth grader in Florida was reportedly arrested after a he refused to participate in a class recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance — a move which “escalated into a confrontation with police and school officials,” according to local news sources.
Media in Lakeland, Florida report that the 11-year-old, a student at Lawton Chiles Middle Academy, “called the flag racist and described the national anthem as offensive,” though the national anthem was not being played.
A substitute teacher who was minding the student’s class reportedly asked the student “why if it was so bad here he did not go to another place to live.”
“They brought me here,” the boy replied, according to a statement taken by the school’s resource officers and released by the Lakeland, Florida police.
The teacher reportedly retorted, “Well you can always go back, because I came here from Cuba and the day I feel I’m not welcome here anymore I would find another place to live.”
At that point the substitute teacher called the office, noting that she could no longer deal with the student. The school’s Dean of Students reportedly tried to calm the student down, but after asking the student to leave the class 20 times to no avail, the Dean called in the school’s resource officer.
“The school resource officer then intervened and asked the student to exit the classroom and he refused,” the police department said in their statement. “The student left the classroom and created another disturbance and made threats while he was escorted to the office.”
“According to the arrest affidavit,” local media reports, “the student was arrested by the school resource officer because he refused to follow multiple commands, repeatedly called school leaders racist and was disruptive. They said he threatened to get the school resource officer and principal fired and to beat the teacher.”
Eventually, the student was placed under arrest.
Inititally, media reports indicated that the student had been “arrested” for the simple act of refusing to say the Pledge of Allegiance — a decision that is protected by the First Amendment and Supreme Court precedent. Later reports, though, indicate that the student was ultimately arrested for making threats and refusing to comply with officers’ orders.
“This arrest was based on the student’s choice to disrupt the classroom, make threats and resisting the officer’s efforts to leave the classroom.” Lakeland police told local media.
The student’s mother says she wants the teacher punished.
“She was wrong. She was way out of place,” the students mother told Lakeland media. “If she felt like there was an issue with my son not standing for the flag, she should’ve resolved that in a way different manner than she did.”
“I want the charges dropped and I want the school to be held accountable for what happened because it shouldn’t have been handled the way it was handled,” she added.
For right now, the school district says, the substitute teacher “will no longer be able to work at any of the district’s schools and the district is still looking into the matter.”