New Jersey high school student says he was forced to remove Trump flag for virtual class

A New Jersey high school student said he was asked to remove a sign supporting President Trump from his wall during a virtual class, according to ABC News.

Seventeen-year-old Anthony Riberio is a student at Toms River High School North. He told the local ABC affiliate that he was asked by his teacher to remove a Trump 2020 flag, which was hanging from his wall, from behind him during chemistry class. 

“He said, ‘If you’re not gonna take it down, it’s unacceptable, and I’m gonna have to ask you to leave the class for today.’ At that point, I waved goodbye, and I was out of the class,” Ribeiro told ABC News.

Ribeiro said he was asked the following day to remove his flag by another teacher in a different class. He told ABC that the second time he was concerned that his decision could negatively impact his grades, so he removed the flag.

“If I had to do it again, I probably wouldn’t have because it’s what I stand for,” he told ABC News.

Ribeiro’s family reportedly reached out to the school district, which agreed that the teachers asking the teen to remove his sign was inappropriate. The school district is handling the matter internally, according to ABC. The family told ABC they want an apology.

“To me, it’s not about politics. It’s about something in our home that we had, and my son was taken away from his studies for it. It’s very upsetting to me and very frustrating that this teacher would do that,” Ribeiro’s mother, Tara Jost, told ABC.