An 11-year-old student who voted for President-elect Donald Trump in a mock election at school was beaten so badly he needed to be taken to an emergency room for treatment.
The boy, who was not identified, was standing with the aid of crutches while he spoke to reporters about the incident.
The incident happened on Wednesday in a classroom at Stafford Municipal School District when the election came up in discussion.
“These boys decided to ask the classroom, ‘Who voted for Donald Trump?’ And then I said, ‘I did.’ And then they come over here and jerked me out of my seat,” the boy told KRIV. “Before I could get up they started kicking me and punching me.”
He said a teacher was present in the room but it felt like he was on the ground “forever” before help arrived.
The boy’s parents said the principal of the school called them immediately after the incident, but added they still don’t have answers as to why it the beating took so long.
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“We have not really gotten a clear explanation of how long this went on and why did it take so long for it to be stopped?” the boy’s father, Buddy Lemmon said.
“I took him to the hospital, we went and made a statement to the police officers, and then I took him to the emergency room so he could get some x-rays done,” Mary Lemmon, the boy’s mother said. He had several deep bruises over his body.
“This is America,” Mary said. “Everyone has the right to their own opinion, and they shouldn’t be beat up for it.”
“I know we’ve been very opinionated on this election, but I’ve never said anything to the point where I would incite violence,” Buddy said, adding that his son “doesn’t have a mean bone in his body.”
