The Alliance Defending Freedom has sent a letter to the superintendent of the Downingtown (Pennsylvania) Area School District asking him to make sure his employees are aware of “constitutionally protected freedoms” — such as freedom of speech.
The request stems (no pun intended) from an incident at the Downingtown STEM Academy in which Assistant Principal Zach Ruff castigated a pair of pro-life teenagers who were peacefully demonstrating on a public sidewalk after school.
Though Ruff, as evidenced by many news site comments and a petition supporting him, appears to be a favorite of students and parents alike, his screaming and yelling — not to mention profanity — is rather shocking considering he’s supposed to a “professional.”
The ADF says that since the incident, the teens (Conner and Lauren Haines) have received “hundreds of messages indicating they completely misunderstand the concept of Free Speech.”
They misunderstand … ?
ADF Senior Counsel Kevin Theriot responds:
No one should ever be harassed and berated by a government employee on a public sidewalk simply for peacefully engaging in one of the most common free speech activities. The severity of this situation, as easily seen in the video, makes what we are requesting of the school district so necessary. This can never happen again, and the school district should ensure that both Conner and Lauren—as well as anyone else who would engage in protected free speech—feel confident that it won’t.
The ADF letter to Superintendent Lawrence Mussoline says
Oral communication, literature distribution, and displaying hand-held signs are protected activities and classic forms of speech that lie at the very “foundation of free government by free men” … In addition to the constitutional violations, Ruff’s willful, aggressive attempt to intimidate Lauren and Conner and keep them from speaking by attempting to take their sign constitutes assault and battery under Pennsylvania law…. It is imperative that this situation be corrected immediately….
Interestingly, the letter also makes the accusation that under Pennsylvania law Ruff “assaulted and battered” Conner and Lauren:
“Assault is an intentional attempt by force to do an injury to the person of another, and battery is committed whenever the violence menaced in an assault is actually done, though in ever so small a degree, upon the person.”
The ADF requests a response from the district by May 14 and notes “legal action may be necessary if the district doesn’t immediately respect the free speech rights of Lauren and Conner Haines.”
Read the ADF story and full letter.
MORE: Assistant principal caught on video screaming at teen pro-life activists
MORE: Don’t forget about the persecution of campus pro-lifers
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