Politics

HS student in Minnesota yearbook: ‘I would like to behead’ Donald Trump

On Friday, CBS Minnesota reported that the 2017 Brainerd High School yearbook quoted a sophomore as saying she does not like President Trump and would “like to behead” him.  According to the report, yearbook editors “asked students their thoughts on the president, and shared the quotes next to their picture.”

“I would like to behead him. I do not like him,” the yearbook staff quoted the student, identified only as Camryn, as saying.

A picture of the yearbook page hit social media and sparked a great deal of anger:

Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?

https://twitter.com/LadyMarianneEh/status/865628936629133312

https://twitter.com/the24fan/status/865628445182631937

https://twitter.com/JohnRBrewster/status/865627310963048449

But, CBS said, the student claims that’s not what she said.  Or at least, she doesn’t remember saying those exact words.

“I was so confused, because at first, I didn’t ever remember saying that,” the 15-year-old student said, according to CBS.

WCCO added:

Camryn — who asked WCCO not to reveal her last name — says she had no idea a conversation with a classmate last September would lead to nationwide attention. She says the classmate never said she was working for the yearbook when she asked about then-candidate Donald Trump.

“I did not say, ‘I want to behead him.’ I did not say, ‘I am going to behead him.’ I just said, ‘Well I’m sure we all wouldn’t mind him being beheaded,’ — something along those lines,” Camryn said. “But there was never the direct quote, ‘I do not like him. I would like to behead him.”

That conversation exploded on social media 8 months later, with the help of at least one celebrity. Former “Joanie Loves Chachi” actor Scott Baio shared the photo, tagging the president, the FBI, Sean Hannity and Kellyanne Conway.

“This all just blew up, and Scott Baio, as you know, a very famous actor, posted it on Twitter,” Camryn added. “And he didn’t cover my name or my picture either, and his over 100,000 Twitter followers all got my first and last name, and my picture.”

WCCO said the statement sparked an impromptu protest at a street corner a block from the school:

“Get some accountability here, folks,” one man shouted.

“It’s not a Republican, Democrat issue — what are you teaching the children?” Another woman asked.

Jeff Czeczok calls himself a local government activist. He wants the teacher of the yearbook class fired.

“‘I would like to behead him’ is a threat,” Czeczok said. “It gives a terrible name to the school.”

On Friday, the administration of Brainerd Public Schools said it does not not support or endorse the statement.

“While the District supports Free Speech, the disrespectful statements in the yearbook are contrary to the basic educational mission of the District and should not have been included in a school sponsored publication,” the district said, adding an apology.  The comment published in the yearbook is also under investigation and, WCCO said, the Secret Service is aware of the incident.

“The U.S. Secret Service has seen the Brainerd yearbook comment and is currently under investigation, so the agency cannot comment further. Camryn hasn’t heard from them, but says she reached out Friday,” WCCO added.

“I wanted to make sure that there was no way that they would beat down my front door and get me in handcuffs, because I didn’t say that,” she said, according to WCCO.

Exit question: Wonder if Evan McMullin can come up with audio to prove or disprove this?

Related:

If you haven’t checked out and liked our Facebook page, please go here and do so.

And if you’re as concerned about Facebook censorship as we are, go here and order this new book:

Banned: How Facebook enables militant Islamic jihad
Banned: How Facebook enables militant Islamic jihad – Source: Author (used with permission)

Joe Newby

A 10-year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, Joe ran for a city council position in Riverside, Calif., in 1991 and managed successful campaigns for the Idaho state legislature. Co-author of "Banned: How Facebook enables militant Islamic jihad," Joe wrote for Examiner.com from 2010 until it closed in 2016 and his work has been published at Newsbusters, Spokane Faith and Values and other sites. He now runs the Conservative Firing Line.

Related Articles

Our Privacy Policy has been updated to support the latest regulations.Click to learn more.×