A South Carolina ninth grader’s family is suing her school after she said a teacher pushed a 15-year-old girl against a wall because she refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
The lawsuit, filed on February 13, alleges that Lexington’s River Bluff High School student Marissa Barnwell was on her way to class on November 29, 2022, when special education teacher Nicole Livingston stabbed herself in the hall as a pledge. claims to have confronted her. She plays in the school bullhorn. Her teacher is said to have required her to stop walking and recite her vows.
The lawsuit names the South Carolina Department of Education, Lexington County First School District, Principal Livingston, and Principal Jacob Smith, accusing them of negligence and violations of Barnwell’s civil rights.
At a press conference Thursday, Barnwell said she was “totally and utterly disrespectful” and no one should have gone through what she went through.
“I’ve never met this woman for a day in my life, so I didn’t know how to react to her when she approached me and was so angry and upset,” Byrne said. Well said. “So she came up to me and grabbed me and pushed me against the wall. I wasn’t ready for that.”
She said she stopped participating in the Pledge of Allegiance in junior year because she believes the message of “freedom and justice for all” does not apply to everyone in the United States.
“In those pledges you say, ‘Liberty and justice for all,’ but does America really bring liberty and justice for all?” she said.
Barnwell added that she continues to attend school, but is upset that Livingston hasn’t been affected. did not respond.
“No one has apologized, no one has acknowledged my hurt. The fact that the school defends such behavior is unimaginable,” Barnwell said.
According to the lawsuit, Livingston took a “shaken and emotionally disturbed” Barnwell to the principal’s office after the alleged assault. is said to have sent back to the class.
