One community in North Carolina is outraged at the actions of the 9/11 Memorial security staff.
The above video captured a 9/11 Memorial security guard halting a children choir’s performance of “The Star Spangled Banner.”
Uploaded to Facebook on April 20 by Connie Shepherd Scanlon, the video lasts less than a minute.
The recording begins with a group of nearly 50 children singing the second refrain of the American national anthem.
The choir did not even manage get through the first stanza of “The Star-Spangled Banner” before an unidentified 9/11 Memorial security guard informed them that they had to stop.
The 9/11 Memorial allows musical performances by permit only. The application for which requires a non-refundable $35 processing fee.
“Join us in bearing solemn witness at this site made sacred by tragic loss,” requests the 9/11 Memorial on their website.
“Someone told us that we could,” the choir’s conductor can be heard saying.
Students of North Carolina’s Waynesville Middle School are visiting New York City on an educational trip and will be returning home on April 24.
“They were told by security to cease and desist. And they, of course, complied immediately,” Trevor Putnam—principle of Waynesville Middle School—told local ABC outlet WLOS regarding the incident.
“I hate that our kids didn’t get to finish,” sighed Putnam.
WLOS spoke to other individuals in their community: Marian Anderson said “That’s just not right. That’s not a good way to promote patriotism.”
