Webster father forcibly removed from school board meeting for not wearing mask

WEBSTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — Security forcibly removed a father from Tuesday night’s Webster School Board meeting because he wasn’t wearing a mask.

A video of the incident got lots of attention on social media. Watch the full video below (Warning, explicit language is used, do not watch the video if such language offends you):

The Webster Central School District says the parent was asked to put a mask on three times, but he refused. The district says he was then asked to leave but refused. Then, security guards dragged him out of his chair and out of the room, and ultimately the building.

The Webster Police Department says its school resource officers were present at the Feb. 8 meeting but were not directly involved in the altercation. The police department says when its officers were made aware of the incident, they responded from other areas of the building.

Webster Police Department response to inquiries regarding an incident at the Webster Central School Board meeting on February 8, 2022. pic.twitter.com/ponOC5LJ3C

— Webster, NY (@TownofWebsterNY) February 9, 2022

The police department’s statement continues, in part, "They [the officers] then deescalated the situation and preserved the peace. We have spoken to the individual involved in the incident with school security and we are conducting an investigation. When the investigation is complete, we will make a determination on whether charges are appropriate."

The Webster Central School District released the following statement Wednesday:

"There was an unfortunate incident during last night’s Webster CSD Board of Education meeting. Prior to entering last night’s meeting, visitors were reminded to wear masks in school buildings as is mandated by New York State. The individual whom you inquired about was asked to put his mask on three times and he refused. He was then asked to leave the meeting and refused to do so, resulting in Webster CSD security physically removing the individual from the meeting.

"We strive to hold board of education meetings in public in order to inform the community of activities going on in our schools. Those meetings can only occur when everyone in attendance acts in a civil manner. We understand that individuals have strong feelings about masking. We hear those concerns and are continuing to monitor the rapid changes in this ongoing pandemic. This week, the Monroe County Council of School Superintendents wrote a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul advocating for guidance and guidelines regarding an exit strategy for masking and other mitigation strategies.

"Webster CSD will continue to keep our community informed of any changes to masking requirements in our schools."