Student Who Took Classmate's MAGA Hat Says She Was Making Political Statement
EL DORADO (CBS13) — A Union Mine High School student is facing battery charges after an altercation in her classroom over a Donald Trump "Make America Great Again" campaign hat.
Cellphone video shows some of the tension inside this high school classroom.
The teacher is seen trying to subdue fired-up 17-year-old senior Jo-Ann Butler after she became enraged at a classmate for wearing the "Make America Great Again" hat.
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She grabbed the hat off his head.
"That's a racist and hateful symbol," Butler said.
She is now facing two counts of battery, one against her classmate and one against her teacher who deputies say she slapped, as he escorted her from the room.
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Butler says she made the scene to express her political feelings.
"Maybe just wake people up in some type of way, because it's not cool the environment our classroom is in," Butler said.
Her father says he does not approve of the way she behaved in class.
"Wasn't handled the way I'd like it," Chris Butler said.
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Now he's faced with the legal impact of his daughter's now alleged criminal act. All centered around the political divide across the country.
"I don't agree with grabbing someone's hat and verbally talking to them in that way," Chris Butler said. "But as far as the issue being brought up, maybe this is something that needs to be brought up."
The El Dorado Union High School District's clothing policy does allow students to wear political symbols.
A statement released by the district reads:
"...student and staff safety is our highest priority and the UMHS administration will continue to cooperate with the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office as the incident is being investigated."
Besides her arrest, Jo-Ann Butler has been suspended from school for a week. The El Dorado County District Attorney will likely decide later this week whether she will be formally charged.