Teacher Reported to Police as Student Says He Ripped Trump Pin Off Her Shirt
A teenage girl in Michigan says that a pin supporting President Donald Trump was ripped off her shirt by one of her teachers.
Mason, Michigan, student Sadie Earegood, 16, says she was assaulted by her media technology teacher during school hours due to her support of the president, according to WILX-TV.
She alleges that the teacher, identified as Paul Kato, ripped off her “Women for Trump” pin after first telling her he didn’t like it.
“I was just really shocked that a teacher would especially do that,” she told WILX about Kato telling her he didn’t like the pin.
“He’s talking about the ‘Women for Trump’ pin and I said, ‘That’s fine. You don’t have to like it, we can have our opinions.'”
Well, yes — but she couldn’t have a Trump pin, allegedly. She claims the teacher ripped it off.
“He grabbed it and I pulled, I tried to push his hand away and he grabbed my shoulder,” she told the station.
“[He] just kind of put his hand there, and then he started pulling more and more and I just started backing up.”
When he had the pin, Earegood said, he put it upside-down on his own shirt, claiming that’s how it belonged.
“I made a criminal assault and larceny report against the teacher,” Sadie’s mother, Capi Earegood, told WILX.
“He had no right to put his hands on my child over a pin or anything else. The First Amendment gives everyone the right to express their freedom of speech. No one should get that upset about someone wearing a political pin.”
The school’s dress code permits such pins, as well.
“School recognizes the right of students to express themselves. With the right of expression comes the responsibility to do it appropriately. Students may distribute or display, at appropriate times, non-sponsored, non-commercial written material and petitions; buttons, badges, or other insignia; clothing, insignia, and banners; and audio and video materials,” the Mason High dress code states.
WILX reported that police had confirmed they are looking into the Dec. 5 incident, but didn’t provide details.
“I just want him to know that it’s not OK to do that,” Sadie Earegood told the station.
“I want this to be a learning experience for other teachers, and I’m not going to stop wearing my political stuff.”
Newsweek reported that Kato has been “has been placed on paid, non-disciplinary leave pending the results of the criminal investigation.”
Some students at the school have told WILX that they are supporting the teacher.
“Kato isn’t just a teacher, he’s a mentor,” 12th-grader Ina Aker told the station.
“It’s been the talk of the school, so I just feel like it’s unfair because anyone who has Kato, knows Kato, he’s not that kind of person,” she added.
And what proof is there of that? I thought we were supposed to believe all women, after all.
If this is true — and it certainly wouldn’t be the first time a teacher’s anti-Trump attitudes have come up in a school — this teacher should be prosecuted.
This is a serious accusation and deserves more attention than it’s getting. If this teacher did what he’s accused of doing, this is assault, plain and simple.
If this was someone who was wearing, say, an Elizabeth Warren pin, this would be all over the news. Now, given that it involved a Trump supporter, nothing.
What a shocker.
CORRECTION, Dec. 11, 2019: The original version of this article incorrectly identified the state where the incident took place.
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