(LifeSiteNews) — An incident at Enumclaw High School in Washington state has gone viral after a student protest against ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) descended into violent chaos despite the presence of adult chaperones. As one female student was arrested, she began screaming: “I want my mommy!”
On Friday, February 13, about 150 students staged a walkout protest, marching out of their school and headed to Enumclaw City Hall at about 11:40 a.m. The teens chanted “F*** ICE!” and “No justice, no peace!” A man identifying himself as a “gonzo journalist” began filming the group and talking to some of the students, and the protest turned aggressive.
“The scene was chaotic, and as the students yelled at him, the man yelled back something like ‘President Trump is the greatest president,’” the Courier-Herald reported. “Eventually the man stepped down started to blow an emergency whistle. However it did not appear he made any attempt to exit the group.” The man allegedly got close to the students, and after yelling at him to back out, one of them punched him, knocking off his glasses and making his drop his phone. The police were called.
The female student who had punched the journalist bolted, and officers chased her down, “brought her to the ground,” and handcuffed her. At that point, other students began following the police, screaming; another student attempted to block the police by throwing herself on the ground in front of the officers. She was placed in handcuffs, as well; viral clips online show the young girl crying hysterically screaming “I want my mommy!” as she was taken to jail.
“[Officers] were informed of a recent unprovoked assault that had been captured on video,” the police report stated.
Officers determined there was probable cause to detain the assault suspect and attempted to stop the individual. The suspect fled, resulting in a foot pursuit that ended at the intersection of Myrtle Avenue and Porter Street. When officers attempted to arrest the juvenile female suspect, approximately 25 protestors surrounded the officers. As officers escorted the suspect, protestors continue to crowd officers and direct significantly derogatory remarks toward them. During this time, a second juvenile female protester was arrested for obstructing a law enforcement officer after interfering with the initial arrest.
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Both teens were released into the care of their parents later that day. Charges of fourth degree assault, obstruction, and resisting arrest have been recommended by police for the first student, and obstruction for the second. “The arrests that occurred were not about silencing voices or viewpoints,” Police Chief Timothy Floyd emphasized. “Being involved in a protest does not give one a free pass to commit crimes.”
The officers, Floyd stated, “they showed teamwork, professionalism and restraint while getting pushed, kicked at, spit at and called significantly derogatory names. Assaultive behavior towards an EPD officer will not be tolerated, ignored or go undealt with.”
Videos of the students getting arrested – especially that of the girl crying for her mother – have been pushed out on many conservative accounts with plenty of jokes about accountability and “messing around and finding out.” I’m uncomfortable with including the video here, because the girl is a minor, and I hope she has learned a lesson without adults sharing her face to millions of people. She made a mistake, but her age should prompt compassion from conservative commentators.
I tend to agree with Laura Ingraham. “The fact that young people behave like this in public schools – or any other schools – is APPALLING,” she stated. “Imagine the parents who model this conduct. Imagine the teachers who encourage it.” How did 150 students simply walk out of school in the middle of a school day to engage in a major protest that ended up including assault, screaming at police, and obstruction of justice? Where were the adults? Did their parents even realize that this was happening?
The main takeaway here isn’t about ICE, or about a young girl reacting with fear when she realizes that her entitled protest does not give her the right to break the law and that there are consequences to her behavior. It is, once again, about the public school system and how this was permitted to happen.
