They’re clearly afraid of a large civil suit. The kid should definitely get a good lawyer and make the school district pay, pay, pay. How else will these abusers learn?
Assuming that this details all the kid was doing, just wearing a shirt. It seems to me this is about as open and shut case of the State violating someone's most basic and elementary of civil rights.
If this were a black kid with a NOMCCAIN shirt who was arrested, I don't think that there would be any doubt that the FBI would have opened an investigation.
Personally, I'm sick and tired of libs getting away with this kind of thing. I usually don't go in for suing people... But in this case, I'd go after the school and the police dept. I'd go for compensation deep in the 6 figures, and punitive damages equal to the sum of both the school district's and police dept's annual budgets...times 4 - since it'll be 4 years before he can make a similar statement at another Presidential rally.
, but they may have added some trumped up disobedience charges, back in the 60's, the LAPD used to beat people up for talking back and then arrest them for assault on an officer or disturbing the peace
Winning a case against the state has little value. States often have statutory limits making the awards small compared to those extorted out of business. The award is borne by the taxpayer which often makes the plaintiff look greedy. What needs to happen is the removal of Sovereign Immunity for certain classes of arrests. The Sheriff made a obviously political arrest. He should pay the damages not the state if he loses the case. I can see sovereign immunity in cases of civil unrest and in cases where split decisions for life and death situations are encountered, but government workers should be put on the same playing field as the private sector where they have the time to deliberate over their actions. I'm thinking about the whole of government not just the police.
The kid should soak 'em through their tweed. He'll be scarred for life from this traumatic assault, launched against him for expressing his opinion in a place where he's supposed to feel safe, and condoned by the administration at his "school" whose job it is to protect him from such an attack.
Me smell heap big wampum, Kemosabe.
;-/