What to Know
- Johansson said other students at school were wearing MAGA hats as the district does not have a policy banning political attire.
A Treasure Coast school district and sheriff’s department are investigating after surveillance video showed a bus aide yelling at a student and grabbing a hat off his head honoring President Donald Trump.
NBC affiliate WPTV reports the video showed the aide grabbing a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat off the head of 14-year-old Gunnar Johansson on a bus in Martin County earlier this week.
Johansson said students were allowed to wear hats at his middle school if they made a donation to the March of Dimes charity. The unidentified aide can be heard telling him to take the hat off within seconds of boarding.
“I was really confused, I was like ‘I can’t wear this?’ “Johansson told the station. “She, like, threatened me with a referral and threatened to turn the bus around. I said ‘write me up, I didn’t do anything wrong’, and then she yanked my hat off. It was crazy.”
Johansson said other students were allowed to wear hats, though that has not been confirmed by investigators as the school district and detectives say they are still gathering information.
“I immediately went to the school,” said his mother, Jackie Putt. “I needed to know what my son just went through and what she did to my son. We all have a right to who we want to vote for, this is America.”
Local
Johansson said other students at school were wearing MAGA hats as the district does not have a policy banning political attire. Officials say the aide has not been on the bus since and a decision on possible criminal charges should be final by next week.
