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‘Anti-racism’ protest turns violent, students clash with security and faculty at California high school

March 2, 2023 | | Print Article

A student-led so-called “anti-racism” protest this Tuesday at a high school in San Bernardino ended with students being tackled and pepper-sprayed after they began to act “unruly” and attempted to enter and disrupt a class.

“About 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, a dozen students organized to peacefully protest against racism, according to district spokeswoman Maria Garcia,” the Redlands Daily Facts reported.

“The protest grew in size and violence as the students headed to the classroom of a teacher students had an issue with. When students tried to get into the teacher’s classroom, a vice principal attempted to intervene and was assaulted. At that point, Garcia said, campus security officers used pepper spray to disperse the students,” the station added.

Indeed, video footage from the protest at Indian Springs High School shows the exact moment the vice principal was assaulted.

Watch (*Graphic content):

Yet to hear the students tell it, they’re the victims in all this. Students like Gyhana Woods, who took to Facebook afterward to complain.

She claimed in her post that the protest was prompted by racist words or behavior from certain teachers. However, she abstained from describing these allegedly racist words or behavior.

“ATTENTION! Today, myself (G Woods) and a friend of mine held a peaceful walk-out at INDIAN SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL in attempts to remove racist staff and educators from our campus after being reported multiple times. These reports range from sexual harassment, verbal assault, discrimination based on sexual orientation, race, and religion,” she wrote.

She also claimed that the students had acted perfectly peaceful, which doesn’t at all seem accurate, and that the vice principal had assaulted a student and not the other way around.

“The protest turned violent after one of our staff assaulted a student. From there, 4 other innocent arrests were made as well as an entire group of CHILDREN being pepper sprayed with no medical attention,” she added.

She also lodged accusations against one specific teacher, John Arient.

“My personal encounters with him have included verbal assault, sexual harassment, discrimination based on race and religion, bullying, as well as the push of political beliefs with consequences if not complied with. School should be a safe space, not a battlefield,” she explained.

But like before, she neglected to highlight what EXACTLY Arient had said or done that was so racist.

View her post below:

ATTENTION! Today, myself (G Woods) and a friend of mine held a peaceful walk-out at INDIAN SPRINGS HIGH SCHOOL in…

Posted by Gyhana Woods on Tuesday, February 28, 2023

In her post, Woods also published a video showing security officers kneeling on the back of one of the disruptive students.

Some tabloid outlets have claimed the officers were kneeling on the boy’s neck, but video footage shows them clearly kneeling on his back, not his neck.

Watch:

The good news is the protest eventually ended uneventfully, with all students being placed on lockdown and then slowly released to their respective classes. By Wednesday, everything was reportedly back to normal at Indian Springs High School.

“The campus returned to normal yesterday, and it has continued to be calm today. The incident continues to be under investigation, and there will likely be disciplinary action,” district spokesperson Ginger Ontiveros reportedly wrote in an email Wednesday.

“The vice principal was at work today. Multiple employees were physically assaulted yesterday. None required medical treatment,” she added.

Meanwhile, Arient has reportedly been placed on administrative leave while the district investigates his alleged racism.

Despite Woods’ lengthy post and plea, it appears the majority of the public has sided against her and her fellow students:

Vivek Saxena
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