Video footage of a teenage boy being brutally attacked by students on a school bus in Hamilton County, Florida, in November surfaced on social media on Thursday. The boy’s mother, who posted the video, claims that her 14-year-old son was hospitalized after he was assaulted by multiple students for wearing a hat supporting Donald Trump to school.
“I am sitting in the hospital with my 14 year old kid because he was just jumped by 8 black kids on the school bus, I guess that’s what happens when a kid wears a #Trump hat to school,” explained the boy’s mother on November 21. “And who’s the violent ones again? Earlier today they poured milk all over his head.”
The mother replied to her original tweet on the November incident this week with a video of the attack, which has gone viral: “My attorney @FoyeWalkerPA said it’s okay to release the video, warning graphic — keep in mind this is only the first 21 seconds of the video…please RT to have these two girls and 3 boys held accountable.”
Watch below:
The family’s attorney, Foye Walker, told Breitbart News that the student was bullied by his classmates shortly after wearing a hat in support of President Donald Trump.
“He wore a MAGA hat to school two weeks prior and the bullying started,” said Walker to Breitbart News. “It escalated until the day of the incident. On that day, students poured white milk on his head and called him cracker. The attackers were two girls and three boys — it is my understanding that he was stomped by the last male you see in the video.”
Walker added that this incident is about the student’s First Amendment rights, not his political views.
“This is about freedom of speech,” he said. “Even if he had an Antifa shirt on, he has that most sacred right. The Democrats call for Civil War and violence. Maxine Waters says get in their face. This is a perpetuation on that. ‘Through any means necessary’ is what the Democrats say. That type of behavior is the cause of this incident.”
The boy’s mother also elaborated on the continuous bullying in November, weeks before the video emerged:
To be clear, my son bought his #Trump2020 hat with his own money at the flea market a few weeks ago. He was proud to wear it. He wore it to School, but due to immediate bullying he put it away & didn’t wear it to school again, sadly the damage was already done & was now a target.
From that point on he was steadily getting messed with. He was getting hit, tripped & verbally abused on the bus, but it all came to a head yesterday on his bus ride home. The nurse noted there are bruises on his arm that were older along with his new injuries. He didn’t tell us — about the bullying, but they took it to a new level yesterday and we are just now learning what he was going through. My husband is going to the sheriffs department now and I really hope these kids are held accountable.
“The bus tape was reviewed and there is now a criminal investigation underway,” added the mother the following afternoon. “I will continue to keep you all informed. Tyler is in a lot of pain today, very emotional and very upset. He wants to thank all of you for all the well wishes, as do I.”
Last week, the mother updated her followers by sharing a screenshot of an email she claims to have received from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.
“I received the photos and info. My report along with the videos, witness statements and photographs will be sent to the State Attorneys Office this week for criminal prosecution on all those involved,” read the email.
The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to Breitbart News’ request for comment by the time of publication.
Update — Hamilton County School District Superintendent Rex Mitchell released a statement regarding the bus attack after the publication of this article. Mitchell points out that the incident occurred in November, as reported in this article by Breitbart News. Mitchell states that the attack was the escalation of a “verbal altercation” and was not related to the victim’s support of President Donald Trump. He goes on to add, “I am very disappointed that the school district has been portrayed in a way as to bring negative attention to our staff and students when the District took immediate action to investigate and hold those individuals involved accountable.” The entire text of Mitchell’s statement is included below:
On Thursday, December 12th, a message was posted on Twitter along with a video showing an altercation between students on a Hamilton County School District school bus. The incident shown in this tweet actually occurred on Thursday, November 21st, 22 days ago. Since that time the school district has investigated the incident, taken action against the students involved, and turned the information over to the local Sheriff’s office for criminal action. It is implied in the post that the altercation occurred because one of the students involved was wearing a political hat showing support for President Trump. There was no evidence found during the investigation that indicated the student was wearing any of this apparel at the time of the altercation or that his wearing of such apparel on a prior occasion motivated the incident. The incident began with a verbal altercation between two students that escalated when additional students became involved. In addition to the video that was posted online which was recorded by a student, the school district reviewed the bus video which depicted, not only the altercation, but all events prior to the altercation and its conclusion.
“We absolutely do not condone the use of physical force between students”, stated Superintendent Rex Mitchell. “This was a very unfortunate incident that we take very seriously as the safety and welfare of the students is always our top priority. Maintaining order on a school bus is a very difficult task. We use as many bus aides as possible to assist with maintaining a safe environment for the students.” This is being treated as an isolated incident and bus video is being monitored with no additional incidents being reported.
“I am very disappointed that the school district has been portrayed in a way as to bring negative attention to our staff and students when the District took immediate action to investigate and hold those individuals involved accountable. Hamilton County Schools have made tremendous progress in academic performance and financial stability in the past two years. Staff and students continue to work hard to meet our mission of “Ensuring a Successful Future for Every Student.” This was a very unfortunate incident completely unrelated to any political statements or agendas. However, we will continue to evaluate our safety procedures to prevent a future event and ensure the safety of all students in the Hamilton County School District
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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