11-Year-Old Arrested At School For Refusing To Recite Pledge Of Allegiance

An 11-year-old boy was arrested at Lawton Chiles Middle Academy in Lakeland, Florida after he refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The young boy claimed that both the American flag and the Pledge are racist, sparking an argument with a substitute teacher. The teacher instructed the boy to go to the principal's office, but he refused so the substitute called school officials to come to the classroom.

“The student became disruptive, and the teacher contacted school administrators for assistance," Polk County Public Schools Spokesman Kyle Kennedy told Patch. “The school’s resource deputy also became involved.”

The young boy was taken into custody and charged with disrupting a school function and resisting arrest without violence. He was also suspended from school for three days.

The boy's mother, Dhakira Talbot, was livid with how school officials treated her son. She told Bay News 9 that she believes her son should not have been arrested for his actions.

"My son has never been through anything like this. I feel like this should've been handled differently. If any disciplinary action should've been taken, it should've been with the school. He shouldn’t have been arrested." 

School officials said that the boy was not required to recite the pledge, something that the substitute teacher was not aware of. As a result of the incident, they said the substitute will no longer be employed by the district.

"We are looking into this matter, but this individual will no longer be allowed to substitute at any of our schools," Kennedy said. "Our HR department will contact Kelly Services, which provides our substitutes, to further refine how our substitutes trained."

Talbot says that she wants the school officials to be held accountable for their actions and believe that her son should not face criminal charges over the incident.

"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.  

Photo: Getty Images


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