The 14-year-old West Virginia student who was arrested in April after refusing to remove his National Rifle Association T-shirt was formally charged with obstructing an officer last week and could face up to a year in jail.
Jared Marcum, then an eighth grader at Logan Middle School in Logan, W.V., got into an argument in late April with his teacher, who requested that Marcum
remove his NRA T-shirt that featured the image of a rifle and the "Protect Your Right" slogan. The Logan County School District prohibits clothing with profanity, violence, or discriminatory messages, but does not mention gun images.
When Marcum objected, the police were called and he was arrested for obstructing an officer and disrupting the educational process.
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Officer James Adkins claimed that Marcum refused to stop talking, thus
hindering his ability to do his job, WTRF.com reported. Adkins also reportedly threatened to charge Marcum with making terroristic threats.
"In my view of the facts, Jared didn't do anything wrong," Ben White, Marcum's attorney said. "I think Officer Adkins could have done something differently."
Marcum returned to school the next week in the same T-shirt to make a point, and other students reportedly wore similar shirts as a showing of solidarity.
Now, Marcum faces a $500 fine and a maximum of one year in prison.
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"Every aspect of this is just totally wrong," Marcum's father Allen Lardieri told WTRF.com. "He has no background of anything criminal up until now and it just seems like nobody wants to admit they're wrong."
Marcum's next court appearance is scheduled for July 11.
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