A Florida county bus aide has been suspended four days without pay after surveillance video captured her swiping one of President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” hats off a student’s head.
Gunnar Johansson, 14, wore the hat flashing Trump’s signature campaign slogan for a hat day at a Martin County, Fla., school earlier this month, according to a local NBC affiliate.
A surveillance video showed the aide, Delores Matheny, yelling at Johansson and demanding that he take the hat off.
{mosads}The incident led to a review from the Martin County School Board and an investigation from the Martin County Sheriff’s Office. Investigators with the office concluded that Matheny was politically motivated when she called on the teen student to remove the “Make America Great Again” hat.
The state attorney’s office reportedly declined to file criminal charges against Matheny.
The school district found that Matheny engaged in misconduct, according to documents obtained by the NBC affiliate.
The parents of Johansson, Jackie and Michael Putt, told the news outlet that an investigation into harassment and political discrimination should have been launched. They also said that the punishment the bus aide received wasn’t severe enough.
“They have a rule that says you can’t discriminate or harass a child based on political beliefs. And that’s what happened. And that’s not what the motion brought forward that was approved today,” Michael Putt said.
A decision has not been made on whether Matheny will be assigned to a different bus, school officials said. Matheny must undergo professional development, which could include sensitivity training, as part of her discipline.
The caps with Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan have been at the center of a number of incidents since Trump launched his 2016 presidential campaign. In February, a New Jersey teen was arrested and charged with attacking an 81-year-old man for wearing a “MAGA” hat.