EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. – A high school senior in California was arrested Monday after she went on a profanity-laced tirade against a classmate for wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat.
Union Mine High School student, Jo-Ann Butler, 17, faces two counts of battery: one against her classmate for grabbing his MAGA hat and the other against her English teacher, whom she slapped as he escorted her out of the classroom. The altercation was captured on cell phone.
Moreover, Butler has been suspended from school for one week, reported CBS Sacramento.
“That’s a racist and hateful symbol,” Butler said, adding she took out her anger at the student to “wake people up in some type of way, because it’s not cool the environment our classroom is in.”
The MAGA hat wearer was not violating school policy since the district allows students to wear political garb.
According to El Dorado Sheriff’s Sgt. Anthony Prencipe, Butler started “verbally berating” her classmate for wearing the pro-President Trump hat.
At one point, the angry student grabbed the hat and threw it on the ground.
The English teacher told Butler to leave, but she came back in, arguing again with the hat’s owner. Prencipe says the teacher stepped in to refrain the volatile student, who then slapped him on the arm.
A school resource officer arrested Butler, who was transported to the El Dorado County Juvenile Hall.
The school district released a statement that reads in part: “[S]tudent and staff safety is our highest priority and the UMHS administration will continue to cooperate with the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office as the incident is being investigated.”
The El Dorado County District Attorney is expected to formally charge Butler later this week.