Ansonia, CT – Officials at a Connecticut high school called police after a teenaged student referenced the Islamic State group during a morning recitation of the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance, an attorney for the school district and local media said on Thursday.
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The police department in Ansonia, Connecticut in turn handed the matter over to the federal Department of Homeland Security, the Connecticut Post reported, citing local police officials and records of a school board meeting in Ansonia where the incident occurred in October.
The 15-year-old boy, who was not identified due to his age, was not charged but was removed from classes at the school after substituting “ISIS,” an acronym commonly used for Islamic State, for the words “the United States of America” during the pledge.
An attorney for the Ansonia Board of Education, Floyd Dugas, said school officials had called police “out of an abundance of caution.”
“We do not believe at this point that this young man poses any kind of risk,” Dugas said, adding that federal and state law prevented the school from saying more on the matter.
Ansonia police said in a statement provided to the newspaper, “We are no longer investigating this matter. The allegation is that the male was allegedly making pro ISIS statements during the Pledge of Allegiance.”
Ansonia police officials did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment.
The United States has been on an elevated state of alert for Islamic State-related attacks after a married couple in December shot dead 14 people in San Bernardino, in an attack inspired by the militant group.
Earlier this month, a man claiming allegiance to Islamic State militants shot and seriously wounded a Philadelphia police officer, according to local police.
Is it illegal for school officials to exercise common sense? Talk about making something a federal case or a mountain out of a molehill.
I’m only surprised that the school wasn’t evacuated, a SWAT team deployed and the entire town locked down. Sheesh.
Obama is going to invite him to the white house soon
Although students do not check their first amendment rights at the schoolhouse door, anything that can reasonably disrupt the normal functioning of the school is fair game for the school to restrict. Additionally, it is not only not illegal for school officials to exercise common sense and an abundance of caution; the legal doctrine of in loco parentis obligates them to do so. Our president honored a kid who brought a fake briefcase bomb to school with a visit to the White House. The kid and his family then proceeded to spit on that undeserved hospitality and leave for a state that sponsors and harbors terrorists. To add insult to the responsible school administration and police department, he proceeded to sue them. The only reason the POTUS won’t invite this kid is because once ISIS was invoked, there is no way to spin such an invitation in Obama’s favor.