Florida teen attacked on school bus for having worn a Trump hat, his mom says
A 14-year-old boy in Florida was repeatedly struck by multiple students on a school bus for having previously worn a Trump hat, his mother says.
The attack was caught on video, showing Tyler Griffin getting overpowered by a girl then punched again and again all while other students scream in the background.
The incident occurred Nov. 21 in Hamilton County, west of Jacksonville. His lawyer Foye Buchannon Walker authorized release of the 21-second video Thursday.
Griffin was taken to the hospital afterward and suffered a head contusion, according to his mother Melissa Griffin.
She implies the fight started because her son previously wore a hat supporting President Trump. He did not have a hat on during the original viral video posting of the attack, which generated 14 million views as of Sunday.
“To be clear, my son bought his #Trump2020 hat with his own money at the flea market a few weeks ago,” the mother tweeted. “He was proud to wear it. He wore it to school. But due to immediate bullying, he put it away and didn’t wear it to school again.
“Sadly, the damage was already done and he was now a target,” she continued. “From that point on, he was steadily getting messed with. He was getting hit, tripped and verbally abused on the bus. But it all came to a head (Nov. 21) on his bus ride home.”
Five students on Friday were charged for the attack on Tyler, WCTV reported.
Hamilton County school Superintendent Rex Mitchell said the district investigated and disciplined students, and turned over information to the sheriff’s office.
The superintendent added that there was no evidence Tyler was wearing a Trump hat during the attack or that his previous wearing of Trump apparel motivated the incident.
Mitchell said the attack spawned after an argument between two students escalated as more students got involved.
“We absolutely do not condone the use of physical force between students,” Mitchell said in a news release. “This was a very unfortunate incident completely unrelated to any political statements or agendas.”
Melissa Griffin set up a GoFundMe page in support of Tyler.
She said it’s no longer safe to send her son back to Hamilton County High School, and that the family is considering moving or having Tyler home-schooled.