A New Jersey dad has pleaded not guilty after a viral video captured him storming into a high school classroom and threatening a student he accused of harassing his daughter.
38-year-old Aaron Thomas, confronted two students inside a classroom at Paulsboro High School, demanding an apology for what he claimed was harassment of his daughter, as per a Daily Mail report.
The incident, which took place months ago in March, led to Thomas being charged with simple assault and trespassing.
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The New Jersey dad however entered his not guilty plea in court on Monday and is scheduled to appear again come November.
The dispute, shared widely on Instagram, allegedly stemmed from some photos being circulated, which Thomas said were used to harass his daughter.
According to Thomas, his daughter was being targeted by the students over these photos, and on the day of the confrontation, the New Jersey dad arrived at the school around 11:30 a.m. to remove his daughter from class. However, upon chancing upon these students , he chose to confront them.
Footage recorded by a student shows Thomas demanding an apology from one boy, with his daughter standing near the door. “You got a problem with my daughter? Apologize to my daughter,” Thomas said.
The student repeatedly denied any wrongdoing to Thomas’ daughter, and said he “did nothing to her,” as the 38-year-old continued to press him. “You heard what the f*** I said. Apologize to my daughter… Now,” Thomas insisted.
The boy then responded, and claimed the girl “had pictures of me and my mama,” though the exact details of the photos and the allegations remain unclear up until now.
Court documents reveal that Thomas’ daughter was having problems with another student over shared photos, yet no further details have since been provided.
Social media users have however disputed the bullying allegations, and some claim the girl deliberately exaggerated the situation to her father. “They were just airdropping regular pictures, and she started sending that white boy’s family photos, so he did it back,” one commenter wrote.
“She told her dad that he started it… and she threatened to call her dad up there, and did exactly that.” During the confrontation, another student attempted to defend his classmate, and the frustrated dad did not hold back in directing his anger toward him. “Bi*** a** ni****,” Thomas allegedly said to the second student before a teacher intervened.
A teacher tried to calm the situation, and placed his arm around Thomas and said, “Seriously, it’s not worth it.” “I’m just proving a point that these little b****** in here are talking about my daughter, but y’all are some bi*** a** ni*****, some hoe a** ni*****,” Thomas responded.
“If I have to come up here again, I’m going to slap fire on both of y’all,” he added, threatening the students and the institution as well.
Thomas’ anger had began halting, but as he began to leave, one of the students reportedly insulted him, prompting him to return and confront the boy.
“You come over here and say that,” Thomas said, crossing the room to face the student again. “What’s the problem? Get off my shirt,” he continued as they appeared to tussle.
Court documents allege that Thomas grabbed the student’s arm and made additional threats. “You trying to punch me? You can’t come up around here and hit kids, what’s wrong with you, bro?” the student said. “I ain’t a b***h or nothing.” “I don’t care who it is, I’ll knock anyone out of this school,” The New Jersey dad also reportedly said before leaving the classroom.
According to reports, the school did not notify the police until nearly three hours later, with officers arriving at around 2:15 p.m. School security was also not informed until after Thomas had left.
The teacher in charge of the class told police that he chose not to contact security during the incident, as he feared it would rather escalate the situation further.
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Many are keeping their eye on Thomas’ situation and what becomes of it, knowing there is certainly more to the story about his daughter being taken advantage of in school.
