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Summary: Teacher Deyshia Hargrave was unfairly arrested for expressing her disagreement with the school board’s decision to grant a hefty raise to the superintendent.
On Monday, the arrest of a teacher who was questioning the pay raise of the district superintendent went viral. On Tuesday, the school board claimed that they have received death threats in response to what happened.
In the shocking video, teacher Deyshia Hargrave stands up and questions why the superintendent deserves a $38,000 raise when teachers and staff were not given raises in several years.
“I have a serious issue with a superintendent or any person in a position of leadership getting any type of raise. I feel like it’s a slap in the face to all the teachers, cafeteria workers, any other support staff we have,” Hargrave said to the school board.
A marshal approaches Hargrave and asks that she leave, and after questioning why she is being asked to go, the teacher complies and heads out with him. While in the hallway, he arrests her; and outside, she complains that she should not have been arrested or manhandled when put in cuffs.
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After the arrest, the school board president said that Hargrave was being disruptive and not following the rules, although in the tape, she is being calm while presenting her arguments.
According to USA Today, the English teacher was booked at Abbeville City Jail on charges of resisting an officer and “remaining after being forbidden.”
On Tuesday, board President Anthony Fontana said that members had to temporarily shut down their offices because they were receiving death threats. He said they were coming from everywhere, from South America to England. He stated that he reported the threats to the FBI and Vermilion Parish law enforcement.
Hargrave’s arrest already enraged many who saw it, but Fontana doubled down and said that the teacher deserved what had happened to her.
“[The marshal’s] job is to make sure we have an orderly meeting,” said Fontana. “He knows what the law is. He knows what our policy is. … The officer did exactly what he is supposed to do.”
Hargrave is an English teacher at Rene Rost Middle School in Abbeville City, Louisiana. The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana condemned her arrest and said that the incident has raised constitutional concerns.
“Deyshia Hargrave’s expulsion from a public meeting and subsequent arrest are unacceptable and raise serious constitutional concerns,” the ACLU said in a statement. “The Constitution prohibits the government from punishing or retaliating against people for expressing their views, and the fact that a schoolteacher was arrested at a public meeting of the school board is especially troubling. The ACLU of Louisiana will continue to investigate this incident and defend the constitutional rights of all Louisianans. We urge anyone whose rights have been violated to contact us.”
