Last year the day before the election, a high school student Blake Benson was waiting in line to attend an event where Michelle Obama was appearing was pulled from the line and arrested for having a NOBAMA sticker across his chest.
He was held on a misdemeanor charge of interference with school and staff which could have resulted in him spending 6 months in jail.
This is something that shouldn’t have been done by the school principal or the Jefferson County sheriff. He was just exercising his free speech rights.
The even was open to all and not a closed event. They should never had bothered him.
The ACLU represented him and he received a $4,000 settlement from Jefferson County and the Jefferson County School District.
I think that he said it best with his quote.
“What my teachers taught me about our constitutional rights wasn’t respected outside the classroom,” Benson said in a written statement. “If one thing comes from this case, I hope it is that other students will learn more about their free speech rights and not be afraid to use them.”
