Florida Mom Outraged School Stopped Her 6-Year-Old Son From Kneeling During Pledge of Allegiance

A Florida mom is speaking out against the elementary school her 6-year-old son attends after he kneeled during the Pledge of Allegiance on Monday.

Eugenia McDowell told ABC News that she had no idea that her son was going to kneel, something likely inspired from the ongoing protests at NFL games during the national anthem.

According to McDowell, her son was ” publicly admonished” by his teacher.

In a text informing the mother, the teacher said “I knew where he had seen it, but I did tell him that in the classroom, we are learning what it means to be a good citizen, we’re learning about respecting the United States of America and our country symbols and showing loyalty and patriotism and that we stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.”

“What that said to me was that him taking a knee was the exact opposite- he was disrespectful of the country. He was being disrespectful of the flag,” McDowell said.

Her son alleges that the teacher told him to “stand up” and to “stop it.”

Linda Cobbe, a spokeswoman for the school district of Wiregrass Elementary School pushed back on the allegation that the teacher “admonished” the child and said the teacher mouthed the words “we stand for the pledge.”

“Our policy — and state law, for that matter — requires that a parent submit a request in writing that their student be exempted from participating in the pledge,” Cobbe explained to ABC News.

The school changed his classroom, which was something McDowell had considered but did not pursue as long as the teacher could demonstrate that her son has the right to express himself.

“We are no longer going be silenced, our voices will be heard and our little black boys that sit in classrooms today,” McDowell said. “Not just my son but every other child that looks like him, they are not going to be silenced,”