Sam Amico
A South Carolina ninth-grader is taking her desire not to say the Pledge of Allegiance to court.
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Marissa Barnwell, 15, also accused the teacher of pushing her against the wall in an effort to force her to say the patriotic recited verse.
The lawsuit claims that Barnwell was walking to her class when the teacher, Nicole Livingston, demanded she stop. Livingston then allegedly “physically assaulted” Barnwell by shoving her into a wall and “forcefully touching her in an unwanted way, without her consent, so that she would stop walking in recognition of the Pledge of Allegiance,” the suit states.
Barnwell is a student at River Bluff High School, where Livingston is employed. At a press conference, Barnwell said she was “”just in disbelief” over Livingston’s alleged actions, which included a trip to the principal’s office.
The school has students say the Pledge of Allegiance each day at 8:40 a.m., according to reports. But there is an option not to say it, as the school allows for “nonparticipation in any form which does not materially infringe upon the rights of other persons or disrupt school activities.”
Livingston is listed as a special education teacher on the school website.
River Bluff principal Jacob Smith told Barnwell he would review security footage of her interaction with Livingston, but did not remind her that students were not required to say the Pledge of Allegiance, the suit claims.
Tyler Bailey, an attorney for Barnwell’s family, told The State that “students in our schools should feel safe. They should not be feel threatened for exercising their constitutional rights.”
He said that Barnwell and her parents decided to sue only after the school failed to take action.
“Nobody did anything,” Bailey said. “This is why the federal civil rights lawsuit has been filed.”
She needs to be home schooled if she doesn’t want to pledge to our flag 🤷♀️🤷♀️