Students, parents rally in support of Oklahoma teen told by school not to fly American flag from truck

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Students, parents rally in support of Oklahoma teen told by school not to fly ********* flag from truck

A

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in Oklahoma is drawing widespread support after he was told he could not fly the ********* flag from his truck.

Edmond North High School senior Caleb Horst said school officials told him on Aug. 21 that it was school practice to not bring flags onto campus. However, Horst told local news

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that he’s been flying the flag from his truck “for quite a while” without any problems.

“I’ve never really had problems with it before, and it’s

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, so it’s kind of hard for them to infringe upon our rights,” Horst said.

On Monday morning before classes started, students and parents rallied to support Horst and the right to fly the flag. According to KOCO, about 50 vehicles displaying ********* flags circled the school in protest.

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After school administrators attempted to block 17-year-old Indiana high school senior Cameron Blasek from flying the ********* flag on his truck, local business GCI Digital sponsored a patriotic wrap on the vehicle free of charge.

“I’ve got a brother in the military so it kind of hit home to me ‘cause I was like he’s fighting for that flag, we should be allowed to fly it. It’d be different if we were trying to make a political statement, but there’s nothing political about it,” Edmond North senior Vance Miller said.

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“If it’s the flag today, what is it tomorrow?”  Lynn McNeely, one parent of an Edmond North student said. “It’s not a protest. It’s not political. It’s not about red. It’s not about blue. It’s about red, white and blue. So, where do we draw the line?”

“In the end, we’re all *********, all ******* under that flag, and there’s not anything anyone can do to separate us,” Horst said.

Edmond Public Schools denied their stance on flag flying had anything to do with patriotism. They told KOCO the practice was about safety and to avoid becoming a distraction.

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A headstone and an ********* flag are seen at the Arlington National *********, ******* States military *********, during Memorial Day, which is held annually to honor those who ***** while serving in the armed forces in Virginia, ******* States on May 29, 2023.

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“It is the practice of Edmond Public Schools to not permit students to fly or bring flags of any kind on our school campuses. This practice has been in place for several years and is explained to our students at the start of the school year along with various other policies and procedures. This is designed to prevent disruptions and distractions during the school day. It is also done in an effort to provide a safe school environment as flying flags on vehicles creates safety issues in the parking lot as well as can cause damage to other vehicles,” Edmond Public School officials said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.

“To be clear, this is not about the ********* flag or patriotism. Edmond Public Schools proudly displays the ********* flag prominently and in the proper, respectful way outside each of our buildings and in our classrooms. Not only do we recite the Pledge of Allegiance every morning as we start our school day, but we also present the colors and play the national anthem at most of our athletic events. All of these things are done in the proper fashion according to flag etiquette.”

The controversy caught the attention of Oklahoma Superintendent

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and “Dukes of Hazzard” star John Schneider, who posted videos online in support of the student.

Walters said on Monday that the state would be issuing new guidelines to districts regarding students’ rights to fly the ********* flag.

“No school in Oklahoma should tell students they can’t wave an ********* flag. We’ve had Americans **** for that flag, **** for students to have the right to carry the flag, to wave the flag, to be proud of that ********* flag,” Walters said in a video posted to X. “My department right now is working on guidelines that we will be issuing to districts to ensure that no student is ever targeted for having an ********* flag and also that our schools will promote patriotism.”

Schneider praised the student on social media, ending his video with a “yeehaw!”

“I want to applaud Caleb Horst and all of the wonderful people who are supporting him in Edmond, Oklahoma,”

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in a video posted to

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. “Everyone who has shown up with flags on their trucks and flags on their cars, these are the kinds of people we need to not only support but shout their names and their patriotism from our rooftops and from our bumpers.”

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#Students #parents #rally #support #Oklahoma #teen #told #school #fly #********* #flag #truck

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