HollyMatkinNew Prague, MN – A student who held a sign that read “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people,” during the National Walkout protest on Wednesday was singled out, and escorted off of the school property by the principal (video below).
The nationwide demonstration, touted as a demand for gun control legislation, was slated to last for exactly 17 minutes, in remembrance of each of the 17 people murdered during the Valentine’s Day massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the Chicago Sun Times reported.
The incident, which took place at New Prague High School, was captured on video by fellow student, Kenny MacDonald, who later posted the footage to Facebook.
The video had over six million views as of early Saturday morning, and had been shared over 240,000 times.
Approximately 100 students participated in the school walkout against gun violence in New Prague, according to the school district’s website.
What occurred before and after the short clip was unclear.
“A student walked out without saying a word peacefully put up his sign which said ‘guns don’t kill people, people kill people,’” MacDonald wrote in his Facebook post.
The video showed the school’s principal, Lonnie Seifert, as he approached the unnamed student holding the pro-gun sign.
“He was escorted off the property by our principal and threatened to be put into a police car,” MacDonald explained.
Some students held other pro-Second Amendment signs, such as “Arm our teachers,” but were not removed from the protest, he added.
“This violates the first amendment and makes me sick that they can do whatever they want,” MacDonald wrote.
“The District has a policy that such items must be submitted to and reviewed by school administration at least 24-hours in advance,” the school said in a statement, as the video went viral. “The sign was moved to non-school grounds. The District has an obligation to enforce this policy without regard to political viewpoint.”
“New Prague Area Schools fully respects and recognizes that students have free speech rights,” the statement said. “Those rights, however, are to be balanced against the District’s responsibility to maintain a school environment focused on education.”
The student who was removed from the demonstration was not further disciplined, and law enforcement did not become involved with any of the students who participated in the walkout, the school said.
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The incident was being investigated by the school district, Superintendent Tim Dittberner told the Jordan Independent.
You can watch the viral video below: