A sixth grader was arrested in Florida for refusing to participate in pledge of allegiance

News24xx.com - A sixth grader in Florida was arrested because he refused to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance. His refusal escalated into a confrontation with school officials, and eventually, the police. The boy was charged with disrupting school function and resisting officer without violence, Lakeland Police Department said.

The incident happened in Lawton Chiles Middle Academy, near Tampa. The unnamed boy called the flag racist and the described the national anthem as offensive.

When asked by the teacher, Ana Alvarez, why he was still there if it was so bad, he replied “They brought me here.” She then said he could always go back because she did not want to continue dealing with him. And then she called the school’s office.

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According to the school’s spokesman, students are not required to participate in the pledge. But it seems that Alvarez did not know this policy and no longer wanted to work with the district. The boy’s mother, Dhakira Talbot also said that what Alvarez did was wrong.

“She was way out of place. 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” Talbot said as cited from NBC.

During the incident, the school’s dean tried to calm the boy down and asked him to leave. But the boy refused and caused another disturbance as he was escorted to the office.

Lakeland Police Department said that the student was not arrested because he refused to participate in the pledge. It was more because he was disrupting the classroom and because he made threats as he resisted the authority. But the boy denied ever making any threats.

“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,” Talbot said as cited from NBC.

 

 

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