Personal Injury Attorneyin Barnwell, SC.

A South Carolina honor roll student says that she was assaulted by a teacher and pushed up against a wall because she didn’t recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

Marissa Barnwell, 15, says that River Bluff High School teacher Nicole Livingston assaulted her in late November in an apparent attempt to stop the student from walking in the hallway as the Pledge of Allegiance was recited over the school loudspeakers.

Although Barnwell was walking “silently in a non-disruptive manner to her class” during the Pledge of Allegiance, teacher Nicole Livingston allegedly accosted her by “yelling and demanding that M.B. stop walking and physically assaulting her by pushing M.B., on the wall and forcefully touching M.B., in an unwanted way without her consent so that she would stop walking in recognition of the Pledge of Allegiance and Moment of Silence that was announced at the conclusion of the Pledge,” according to a lawsuit filed in February.

Barnwell has publicly acknowledged that she is the student in the lawsuit, although the complaint refers to her by her initials only, as she is a minor.

According to the complaint, Livingston then took Barnwell to school principal Jacob Smith’s office.

“M.B. was extremely upset and emotionally disturbed about being taken to the principal’s office as she believed she was being punished for having done something wrong,” the complaint says.

Smith allegedly told Barnwell that he would review surveillance footage from the incident and sent her back to class. According to the lawsuit, the principal “never informed M.B., that she was exempt from participating in the Pledge of Allegiance and should not be penalized for failing to participate.”

The complaint notes that River Bluff High School policy mandates that “all students say the Pledge of Allegiance at a time approximately around 8:40 a.m.,” in accordance with state law — but that state law also says that anyone who doesn’t want to participate is “exempt from participation and may not be penalized for failing to participate.”

The lawsuit also notes that Supreme Court rulings have “made it clear” that the First Amendment “forbids compelling saluting or pledging allegiance to the flag,” although not all teachers appear to understand this. South Carolina law allows a person who doesn’t want to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance to leave the classroom, remain in their seat, or “express his nonparticipation in any form which does not materially infringe upon the rights of other persons or disrupt school activities.”

Barnwell’s parents, Fynale and Shavell Barnwell, have sued Livingston, Smith, the Lexington School District One, and the district superintendent on their daughter’s behalf. They allege negligence, reckless infliction of emotional distress, violations of Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection guarantees, and First Amendment Free Speech violations.

At a press conference on Thursday, Barnwell said that prior to the alleged altercation, she had never met Livingston.

“I had never seen this lady a day in my life, so when she approached me so angry and upset, I had not known how to react to her,” Barnwell said. “She approached me, she grabbed me, she pushed me up against the wall. I was just not prepared for that.”

Barnwell said that Smith, the principal, appeared to take the teacher’s side.

“He’s just like, ‘Shouldn’t you be proud of your country?'” Barnwell recalled.

The student said that it’s “emotionally damaging and mentally damaging” to have to see Livingston in the hallways at school and that she believes that “people at my school do not make me feel like I belong, make me feel like I’m safe.”

Barnwell said that she hasn’t recited the Pledge of Allegiance in years.

“I haven’t said any of those things since the third grade, once I realized that in those pledges you say ‘liberty and justice for all,'” Barnwell said at the press conference. “Is America really liberty and justice for all? After that I just realized I’m just not going to say this Pledge of Allegiance anymore.”

Barnwell noted that Livingston is a “special needs instructor” at the school, which is confirmed on the school’s website.

“The fact that she had the will to do this to me, I cannot imagine what she is doing to the special needs students who can’t even speak up for themselves,” Barnwell said.

Barnwell’s parents are seeking an undetermined amount of compensatory and punitive damages.

The South Carolina Department of Education filed a motion Friday to be dismissed from the case, arguing that the complaint didn’t sufficiently explain why the department is involved.

“[T]he Complaint does not affirmatively allege that any of the three named individual Defendants were employed by this Defendant, nor acting on behalf of the Department,” the motion to dismiss says (citations omitted). “Nor does the Complaint name any individuals who were actually acting as employees or agents of the Department for which the Department [is liable], nor any factual basis explaining why the Department is even a named Defendant in this suit.”

“[N]or are there any fact-based allegations made against the Defendant Department individually,” the complaint adds.

Barnwell’s lawyer told Law&Crime that he expects to prevail in court.

“I’m not surprised that the S.C. Dept. of Education is seeking to avoid accountability,” attorney Tyler Bailey said in an email. “All of the powers that be have attempted to ignore Marissa’s constitutional rights since the day her rights were violated. We will address their motion to dismiss in a filing later this month and we’re confident that the court will rule on the side of justice in Marissa’s favor.”

A representative for the Lexington School District One told Law&Crime that the attorney representing the district is working on a response to the lawsuit at this time. Citing the “ongoing legal matter,” the school declined to comment further. It is unclear if Livingston and Smith have retained attorneys.

You can read the lawsuit here.

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BARNWELL, Sc. (WFXG) - Residents of Barnwell, South Carolina have reached out to FOX54 in regards to the mayor of the city and a violation of one of the neighborhoods ordinances.

According to residents, the Mayor of Barnwell, Marcus Rivera, has been trying to put a hair salon in for his wife in his back yard. Only problem is, the neighborhood he lives in has a strict rule against that.

The Meadowbrook subdivision has something called restrictive covenants.

One resident who didn't want his name mentioned says, "restrictive covenants, that was agreed in 1983 by the landowner, is a requirement as you built your home is that you didn’t turn it into a commercial enterprise. No resident is allowed to have that.”

In documents obtained by FOX54, in 2020, Mayor Rivera, who lives on Meadow Lane, went to city hall to request a building permit to put a small 10 x 16 square foot building in his backyard, as a "she shed" for his wife.

In a statement, the city administrator Lynn McEwen says she started receiving information from neighbors that it was going to be a hair salon, which his wife Shonda Rivera had submitted a permit for.

McEwen says she explained to the mayor he can not use it as a business.

“If the city administrator discovers there are covenants, which they all knew they were, then they’re not allowed to issue a permit for commercial entities in that neighborhood," says a Meadow Lane resident.

The city administrator then denied the mayors request because it "did not fall under the allowed, conditional, or special exceptions within the zoning district."

“The city administrator wrote in her own handwriting that she was bring relatively forced, yelled at, screamed at by the mayor. He said that he would get somebody to issue a permit if it wasn’t her," says resident.

The mayor called a special called meeting Monday where residents were told they were going to go into executive session to talk about the city administrator and the city attorney's positions.

The city administrator says she has no comment.

The mayor also says he has no comment on these allegations.

FOX54 will have all the new developments in this story.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The parents of a ninth grade South Carolina student who said she was accosted by a teacher for walking to class instead of stopping and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance are suing the teacher, principal, school district and state education officials.

Marissa Barnwell said she was walking quietly to class and decided not to stop for the pledge or a moment of silence that followed. A teacher yelled at her, confronted her and pushed her against a wall.

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Barnwell was then sent to the principal’s office, which she said was humiliating because she feared she was in trouble. The principal sent her back to class, but Barnwell said he never let her know that the teacher was wrong and she was right.

“I was completely and utterly disrespected,” Barnwell, 15, said at a news conference Thursday, according to The State newspaper. “No one has apologized, no one has acknowledged my hurt. ... The fact that the school is defending that kind of behavior is unimaginable.”

Barnwell’s parents are suing the River Bluff High School teacher, the principal, Lexington School District 1, and the South Carolina Education Department in federal court, saying they violated the girl’s civil rights and her First Amendment rights to both free speech or not to speak at all.

A state law passed more than 30 years ago requires public schools to play the Pledge of Allegiance at a specific time every day.

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But that law also prohibits punishing anyone who refuses to recite the pledge as long as they are not disruptive or do not infringe on others.

“The thing that’s beautiful about America is we have freedoms,” said Tyler Bailey, the family’s lawyer. “Students in our schools should feel safe, they should not be feel threatened for exercising their constitutional rights.”

Barnwell said she called her parents in tears and they said the teacher, principal or district never responded.

Lexington School District 1 said its attorney is working on a response to the lawsuit and didn’t have any additional comment. River Bluff High School’s website indicates the teacher and principal are still working at the school.

“I was just in disbelief,” Barnwell said, adding that she told the teacher, “Get your hands off of me.”

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A South Carolina school district said a ninth grader walking in a hallway was stopped during a moment of silence and not the Pledge of Allegiance, as the student had said in a lawsuit filed last month.

Marissa Barnwell said she was pushed against the wall by a teacher at River Bluff High School when she didn’t stop to recite the pledge as she walked to class in November, according to her family’s lawsuit.

A lawyer for Lexington School District 1 said videos from the hallway shows the teacher touched Barnwell’s shoulder to get her attention but didn’t push her.

It also shows the confrontation didn’t take place until after the end of the Pledge of Allegiance — which state law says students can refuse to recite if they are not disruptive — and the start of a moment of silence.

Barnwell was not silent, arguing with the teacher until she walked away, the district said.

“There would be no prohibition on the school requiring students to stop doing whatever they are doing, including walking down the hall, and to remain silent during the moment of silence,” school district attorney David Lyon wrote.

Barnwell told reporters this month she was humiliated and feared she was in trouble.

“I was completely and utterly disrespected,” the 15-year-old said. “No one has apologized, no one has acknowledged my hurt.”

The district said while the principal did discuss the incident with her, a full investigation determined neither she nor the teacher should face discipline.

The district said it reviewed all footage from the hallway and not just the clip released by the student’s parents.

The family’s attorney and parents were also shown all videos.

Police also did their own investigation and did not file charges.

Along with the teacher, the teen’s family is suing the principal, school district and state education officials, saying they violated the student’s civil rights and her First Amendment rights to both free speech or not to speak at all.

In a statement, Lexington School District 1 said both its employees and Barnwell are getting “extremely hateful communication.”

“District leaders strongly condemn this inappropriate behavior. We care for all of our students and employees and regret that those involved in this situation have been the target of cruel messages,” district officials wrote.

A 15-year-old student at River Bluff High School says she was physically assaulted by a teacher for refusing to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

Now her parents are suing Lexington School District One, Superintendent Gerrita Postlewait, River Bluff Principal Jacob Smith, River Bluff teacher Nicole Livingston and the S.C. Department of Education on her behalf.

On Nov. 29, 2022, Marissa Barnwell, a Black honor roll student, was walking in the hallway on her way to class when the Pledge of Allegiance began to play over the intercom, according a federal lawsuit filed Feb. 13. Barnwell allegedly refrained, in a “non-disruptive manner,” to acknowledge the pledge as she walked into her classroom.

Livingston began yelling and demanded that Barnwell stop to acknowledge the pledge, then physically assaulted her by pushing her on a wall, according to the lawsuit. Livingston then escorted her to the principal’s office to be punished.

“I was just in disbelief,” Barnwell said. “You can hear me say in the video, ‘Get your hands off of me.’”

When Barnwell told Smith what happened, he told her that he would review the video footage and sent her back to class. She called her mother in tears.

Barnwell was “extremely upset and emotionally disturbed,” according to the lawsuit.

“I was completely and utterly disrespected,” Barnwell said at a news conference Thursday. “No one has apologized, no one has acknowledged my hurt. ... The fact that the school is defending that kind of behavior is unimagineable.”

Barnwell said she was the only African American in the hallway that morning, and she was targeted because of that. No other student was confronted by the teacher. River Bluff is a majority-white school. Over 73% of the student body is white, according U.S. News and World Report.

The lawsuit claims the encounter violated Barnwell’s Constitutional rights and violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments. It is well-established that the government cannot compel anyone to acknowledge the Pledge of Allegiance, the lawsuit says.

Under South Carolina law, anyone who does not want to participate is exempt and cannot be penalized. They are allowed to express nonparticipation in any way that does not infringe on the rights of others or disrupt school activities.

“The thing that’s beautiful about America is we have freedoms,” said Tyler Bailey, the family’s lawyer. “Students in our schools should feel safe, they should not be feel threatened for exercising their constitutional rights.”

Following the incident, Barnwell’s parents said they never heard from the district. Now they are trying to seek accountability for Livingston’s actions, according to the lawsuit. But Livingston, Postlewait, Smith, the school district and the Department of Education refused to accept any responsibility.

“Nobody did anything,” Bailey said. “This is why the federal civil rights lawsuit has been filed.”

The River Bluff High School website indicates Livingston, a special education teacher, is still employed by the district.

The lawsuit seeks an unspecified amount of actual, incidental, consequential and punitive damages.

Libby Roof, the chief communications officer for Lexington School District One, said the district’s attorney is working on a response to the lawsuit, which will be filed in the coming weeks.

This story was originally published March 9, 2023, 4:00 PM.