TAKING THE KNEE

Florida Boy, 11, Arrested After Refusing to Stand For Pledge of Allegiance

Kid was charged with causing a disruption.

An 11-year-old boy in Florida was arrested and is facing charges after he refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance. The boy was arrested for causing a disruption and refusing repeated instructions from school staff and law enforcement, according to Polk County Public Schools. The sixth-grader from Lakeland allegedly told his teacher the flag is “racist” and that national anthem is offensive to black people. The substitute teacher then reportedly asked the boy why he still lived in the U.S. if it's “so bad here,” to which he is said to have answered: “They brought me here.” The teacher then reportedly said: “You can always go back because I came here from Cuba and the day I feel I'm not welcome here anymore, I would find another place to live.” The teacher called the cops because she didn't want to keep “dealing with him.” An officer and school administrator tried to calm the boy, and then asked him to leave the class. The student allegedly made threats while being escorted to the office. He was charged with disrupting a school function and resisting an officer without violence.