Oklahoma residents rallied to support a local teenager whose school had forbidden him from displaying an American flag at the rear of his pickup.
Caleb Horst has just started his senior year in Edmond North High School, located 15 miles northeast of Oklahoma City, in a city with nearly 100,000 residents. He drove to school last Wednesday with a huge American flag on his truck. This is something he’s done for “quite a while,” according to him.
The school administration told him that the flag could no longer be flown on his truck, and warned him to not bring it to the Monday morning meeting.
Horst, along with dozens of other American patriots (both students and community members) drove to the campus of the school on Monday morning to peacefully protest the ban of American flags attached to vehicles.
According to the New York Post, more than 50 vehicles arrived at 7 am that day, some of them decorated in red, white, and blue, to show their support to Horst, as well as for general displays of patriotism. They even recited together the Pledge of Allegiance.
Horst stated that “it’s hard for them” to violate our rights because of the First Amendment.
“In the end, we are all Americans, united under this flag. There’s nothing anyone can do to divide us.”
Vance Miller claimed that the issue was “close to home” because he had a brother who served in the military.
According to KOCO, he stated that “He is fighting for this flag; we should allow[ed] [to] fly it.” It would be different if the purpose of this was to make a statement. But there is nothing political about this.”
Edmond Public Schools released a statement on Thursday, four days before the protest. They insisted that the issue was not the American flag, or patriotism, but rather safety, and “disruptions, and distractions” during the school day.
The Edmond Public Schools do not allow students to bring or fly any flags on their school campus. The practice has been in place for several years, and it’s explained to students at the beginning of the year with other policies and procedures.
The district noted that it also “proudly displayed the American flag prominently in classrooms and outside of its buildings”, and that students recite their Pledge of Allegiance each school day and the national anthem before most sporting events.
Oklahoma State Superintendent Ryan Walters, along with some lawmakers from the state, have indicated that it is unacceptable for the district to ban American flags on its vehicles.
Walters, a reporter for 9 News, said: “We’ve seen parents all over the state who have grown tired of young people being told that they should hate their country, or be ashamed of their country.”
Walters stated in a video on X that he was “working on guidelines” to ensure no student in his state is targeted because they have an American flag.
We want our youth to be proud of their country. We want to encourage the students to love their country.
