The New Hampshire man who was arrested at a school board meeting after voicing objections to a controversial book assigned to his daughter’s class recounted the incident to TheBlaze Wednesday, saying the arresting officer appeared nervous and even reluctant to take him into custody.
“His hands were shaking I believe,” William Baer said. “And then when I observed his demeanor and his behavior — He was clearly nervous and I said to him, ‘What are you so nervous about? I’m the one getting arrested.’”
“And he said something to the effect of, ‘I really don’t want to do this,’” Baer recalled to TheBlaze.
The father had gone to the school board meeting Monday to voice his outrage that a book, which contains an explicit passage detailing a rough sex encounter between two teens, was assigned to his 14-year-old daughter without his knowledge.
“All I wanted was a notice to opt-in,” Baer told TheBlaze, explaining he didn’t want to prevent other students from reading the book if their parents approved. The book has since been pulled from the classroom.
When he started voicing his objections at the meeting, an officer was called to the scene and instructed Baer to leave with him.
“You are going to arrest me because I violated the two-minute rule?” the father said. “I guess you are going to have to arrest me.”
Moments later, Baer was escorted outside and placed in handcuffs. According to WMUR-TV, he was charged with disorderly conduct because he did not immediately leave when asked by an officer.
Baer told TheBlaze he’s not sure if he will fight the charges, which he considers unwarranted.
“I’m not sure what I’m going to do about it,” he said. “I think it was outrageous that I was charged for something like that — not adhering to the two-minute rule.”
The father and former attorney said his family had just moved to the town nine months ago and he wasn’t looking to “get into this crap.”
“I’m not really looking for a fight,” Baer told TheBlaze. “But I’m highly offended and insulted and hurt and humiliated that these people saw fit to have me arrested for voicing my opinion at a school board meeting that didn’t comply with their arbitrary two-minute rule.”
—
