A Pennsylvania school bus driver drew a red line on being “patriotic” when he was told he could not wear his Make America Great Again hat at work.
Known to students as Mr. Dave from Bus #73, Dave Bonhoff drove for the Littlestown Area School District until he saw what he considered a violation of his right to free speech when he was instructed to remove his MAGA hat while driving kids to school.
“If that wasn’t a condition of my employment, I’d be back to work tomorrow. I miss the kids. Those kids and I had a great relationship,” the retired Baltimore County police officer told WHP TV.
(Video: CBS21 News)
Bonhoff, who worked directly for Krise Transportation, which contracts to provide bus services to the district, recounted how his supervisor suggested last month that he wear a different hat after a student reportedly complained about his red MAGA hat.
“She contacts me and says, ‘Hey, listen, I’m going to buy you a hat, an American flag hat, because the school district has deemed that they don’t want you to wear that ‘Make America Great Again’ hat,'” Bonhoff told WHP.
“There’s nothing in this hat that says anything about partisanship,” he contended. “I think that saying that this hat is political is absurd. It’s patriotic.”
Bonhoff disagreed with the argument that the slogan is synonymous with President Donald Trump, who popularized it during his presidential campaigns as a way to capture the conservative and patriotic ideology.
“I would say that making America great is what we should all strive to be,” the former bus driver said. “Anybody who doesn’t want America to prosper, I take issue with them.”
He also noted that former Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton had also used the phrase during their terms in office.
Krise Transportation, which employed Bonhoff, “denied giving Bonhoff any ultimatums over the hat,” according to WHP, and provided the company’s dress policy.
“Any item of apparel with text or graphics deemed inappropriate by management (including but not limited to alcoholic beverages, drugs, tobacco/vaping, suggestive sexual images or remarks, political sentiments, or offensive statements) are prohibited,” the company stated.
Acting Superintendent Al Moyer said the school administrators believed that “districts need to be neutral on sensitive issues.”
Meanwhile, Bonhoff saw the incident as a restriction of his self-expression.
“I want to be able to express myself. I don’t want somebody to tell me, well, my feelings are hurt. You got to take the hat off,” he said.
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Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida. Powers also contributes to BizPac Review.
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