Dan Bauman.Photo: CBS Miami
A Florida dad protesting a school district’s mandatory mask policy is accused of assaulting a female student who allegedly grabbed the man’s cell phone as he tried to enter the campus with his mask-less daughter.
A police officer and a school security guard pulled Bauman off the student, and he was arrested on the scene Wednesday morning and charged with child abuse without great bodily harm, according to a Fort Lauderdale police arrest report.
Bauman’s attorney, Corey Strolla, said his client “used absolutely no unnecessary physical force to legally obtain his property back in his rightful possession,” reportsNBC Miami.
The arrest report says Bauman, 50, is “known to cause disruption due to protesting the school board’s mask policy.”
The Broward County School Board previously voted “to make wearing masks in all District schools and facilities mandatory for students, staff, and visitors,” according to thedistrict’s website.
“I want to be able to go to school like everyone does but I can’t wear a mask, I can’t breathe in it and I want to have that choice,” said the daughter, according to the outlet.
During the confrontation, four supporters of the daughter stood outside the school with signs objecting to the district’s mandate, and were met with chants of “wear a mask, wear a mask” from students gathered on the campus grounds, as Bauman recorded with his phone.
That’s when Bauman allegedly grabbed the student. He was taken to the Broward County jail, from which he was released on a $5,000 bond, with additional orders to stay away from the victim and keep off school grounds unless he is permitted, reports NBC Miami.
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“I think it was planned because of the cops,” Bauman’s daughter vented afterward, according to the outlet. “All the adults were surrounding him, grabbing him as if he was assaulting her.”
“Our kids are incredible,” Curran said, reports CBS Miami. “Every single one of them is wearing [a mask] and are supportive of what the measures are to keep everyone safe.”
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source: people.com
