Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called for violent student protesters demonstrating against immigration agents, and schools supporting them, to face legal consequences as the state investigates an Austin school district.
“It’s about time students like this were arrested. Harming someone is a crime—even for students,” Abbott said in a Feb. 3 post on X that attached a video showing a public school student resisting arrest.
“Schools and staff who allow this behavior should be treated as co-conspirators and should not be immune for criminal behavior,” the post stated.
The video with the governor’s post showed Kyle, Texas, police struggling to arrest one of two students from Hays Consolidated Independent School District (CISD) during Feb. 2 protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The Kyle police department reported that about 500 Hays students made their way downtown, where officers were stationed to monitor traffic and ensure pedestrian safety.
Police said a scuffle broke out when officers attempted to arrest an underage protester with alcohol.
Two students were charged with resisting arrest after the struggle. One of the pair was also charged with alcohol possession and assaulting a police officer.
Abbott pointed to the video as an example of the chaos that can result when Texas schools allow disruptive walkouts.
“We are also looking into stripping the funding of schools that abandon their duty to teach our kids the curriculum required by law.”
The governor ended the post with “more to come.”
This was not the only incident involving Hays CISD student protesters.
An incident involving students and a male motorist is under investigation by police in Buda, Texas.
A video shows students from the school district getting into a fistfight with the motorist near Moe & Gene Johnson High School in Buda during an anti-ICE protest on Feb. 2.
The man outside his truck in the video can be seen wrestling with a student before he was tackled to the ground.
About eight to 10 youths began punching and kicking the man, who struggled with them as he tried to get free.
He managed to get back to the truck as they cursed and threw objects at him.
Buda Police Department officers dispatched to the scene said a minor female student on the sidewalk and the adult male in the vehicle got into an argument, which escalated into a physical fight involving multiple people.
Police are investigating, but no arrests have been made, according to a police Facebook post.
It’s unclear what started the incident.
Hays CISD referred The Epoch Times to the local police when asked for comment on the student altercations that occurred off school property.
In response to the student protests, the district said the district did not condone or facilitate the demonstrations.
Students who left class were given an unexcused absence, according to a district release.
The Texas protests were part of nationwide anti-ICE demonstrations.
Abbott also called for the Texas Education Commissioner to investigate the Austin Independent School District (ISD) after photos were posted online showing student protesters with police escorts holding up signs with profanities describing ICE.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton also announced an investigation into the Austin ISD on Feb. 2 for “facilitating student protests against lawful immigration enforcement activities,” according to a press release.
Paxton demanded documents from the Austin school district, claiming it “knowingly allowed” students to leave, and said the investigation would determine whether any state laws were broken.
The demand followed student walkouts from 14 Austin ISD campuses on Jan. 30.
Superintendent Matias Segura stated in a letter to parents that day that some students participated in walkouts on campus, while others gathered at the state capitol to protest.
Segura’s letter said the district didn’t sponsor or endorse the protests, but that administrators and police attended the student protests out of concern for their safety.
Students who left to protest were given unexcused absences, according to the superintendent.
“During the school day, our students are our responsibility, and we’re committed to the safety of our students in our community, regardless if they are on our campus. That is why our administrators and Austin ISD Police remain with our students during protest activities during school hours,” the letter stated.
Paxton said parents expect public schools to educate their children and keep them safe during the school day.
