A 14-year-old from Florida was allegedly beaten up on his school bus after wearing a red Make America Great Again (MAGA) hat to school and vocally supporting President Trump.
The incident happened back on November 21st in Hamilton County and is gaining attention after his mother posted about the situation on Twitter. Using the name @AmericanDiaries, the mom posted a video of the fight with permission from her lawyer. The 21-second clip was apparently shot by another student on the bus and was given to the school and the police department to help in the investigation.
The clip shows at least five students attacking one student sitting down in a blue shirt. One girl is seen doing most of the hitting as others around take a swing when they can. The boy being hit is seen being overpowered and putting his arms up over his head trying to defend himself. The footage is upsetting and any parent should empathize with this boy and his family regardless of political affiliation.
The Hamilton County Sheriff's Department spoke with local news affiliate WCTV in nearby Georgia that five students were charged with misdemeanor battery. Rex Mitchell, the superintendent for the Hamilton County School District issued a statement on Friday, December 13th saying the district had completed their investigation.
The district concluded that there was no evidence that the victim was wearing any Trump gear at the time and that they couldn't prove the incident was politically motivated. After that statement was released was when the victim's mother took to Twitter to share her side.
A second tweet shows a picture of the boy in a hospital bed covering his face. His mother shares that he was hospitalized due to his injuries and had contusions on his head. This woman is asking for justice for her son and for the students involved to be held accountable.
The victim's mother gave some more background into her side of the incident. She said her son bought the red MAGA gat himself and was excited to wear it to school. The woman alleged her son was bullied almost immediately and took off the hat. He hadn't worn it to school since. He wasn't wearing it on the day of the incident.
In one Tweet, she expressed her frustration and wrote, "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."
We'll likely never know if this was politically motivated or not, but violence is never the answer.