Four people in Mississippi land in that predicament.
By Raif Karerat
WASHINGTON, DC: Four proud relatives who cheered for family members during a recent high school graduation ceremony were stunned to discover they could be thrown in jail after police issued warrants for their arrests as a result of the non-incident.
Henry and Linda Walker were both asked to leave the Senatobia High School graduation ceremony for cheering on their 18-year-old daughter, Lanarcia Walker, as she crossed the stage. They complied without mounting any objections, and were served with papers “a week or two later.”
“Lanarcia’s father, Henry Walker, yelled out, ‘You did it baby,’ waved his towel and went out the door,†Linda said of a brief video showing Henry exiting the ceremony as he cheered.
“When she went across the stage I just called her name out: ‘Lakaydra’ [sic]. Just like that,†her aunt, Ursula Miller, who was also asked to vacate the graduation, explained to WREG-TV.
Superintendent Jay Foster filed “disturbing the peace†charges against the people who yelled at the ceremony.
Police at Northwest Mississippi Community College, where the high school ceremony was held, stated the superintendent asked the crowd not to yell and to hold their applause until the end, otherwise they would be asked to leave.
“It’s crazy,†Henry Walker said. “The fact that I might have to bond out of jail, pay court costs, or a $500 fine for expressing my love, it’s ridiculous man. It’s ridiculous … Okay, I can understand they can escort me out of the graduation, but to say they going to put me in jail for it. What else are they allowed to do?â€
The families have all expressed that they don’t have the money to fight the charges in court, and WREG notes that all “four people charged are expected in court Monday, June 9,†which include the Walkers, Miller, and an individual who is yet to be named.