14-Year-Old Arrested for Pro-Gun Rights Shirt Faces Jail Time
An 8th-grader in West Virginia was suspended in late April for
wearing a pro-gun rights t-shirt to school, then arrested when the
police officer called in to suppress the young man's right to free
speech determined that he was not complying with his order to "stop
talking." 14-year-old Jared Marcum faces a $500 fine and a maximum of
one year in prison for the charge of "obstructing an officer." For the
record, Marcum's obstruction was, quite literally, continuing to talk
after Officer James Adkins ordered him to stop doing so. Adkins also
claimed, after the fact, that Marcum made "terrorist threats"
(wow...just wow), but nothing in legal documents delivered to the court
indicate this in any way, shape or form.
The boy's father, Allen Lardieri, noted, "Me, I'm more of a fighter and so is Jared and eventually we're going to get through this. I don't think it should have ever gotten this far." He added, "Every aspect of this is just totally wrong. He has no background of anything criminal until now and it just seems like nobody wants to admit they're wrong." Marcum's suspension also came under questionable circumstances. Recounting his run-in with a teacher, Marcum noted, "She said, 'Are you supposed to wear that in school?' I said, 'I don't see why I shouldn't.'" Also for the record, there is no rule in Marcum's school against a t-shirt like that which he was wearing.
In fact, when Marcum returned from his one-day suspension, he wore exactly the same shirt to make a point. Many other students in his class wore similar t-shirts, and none of them, including Marcum, were suspended or disciplined in any way. "In my view of the facts, Jared didn't do anything wrong," Ben White, Marcum's attorney, noted. "I think Officer Adkins could have done something differently." That the police were involved at all is a joke. That Marcum was arrested is a disgrace. That teachers, police and other "authority" figures are making up their own rules as they go along is downright scary.
The boy's father, Allen Lardieri, noted, "Me, I'm more of a fighter and so is Jared and eventually we're going to get through this. I don't think it should have ever gotten this far." He added, "Every aspect of this is just totally wrong. He has no background of anything criminal until now and it just seems like nobody wants to admit they're wrong." Marcum's suspension also came under questionable circumstances. Recounting his run-in with a teacher, Marcum noted, "She said, 'Are you supposed to wear that in school?' I said, 'I don't see why I shouldn't.'" Also for the record, there is no rule in Marcum's school against a t-shirt like that which he was wearing.
In fact, when Marcum returned from his one-day suspension, he wore exactly the same shirt to make a point. Many other students in his class wore similar t-shirts, and none of them, including Marcum, were suspended or disciplined in any way. "In my view of the facts, Jared didn't do anything wrong," Ben White, Marcum's attorney, noted. "I think Officer Adkins could have done something differently." That the police were involved at all is a joke. That Marcum was arrested is a disgrace. That teachers, police and other "authority" figures are making up their own rules as they go along is downright scary.
Source:Buzzle
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