FORT WORTH, TX - A father was escorted out of a school board meeting by police this month after he read from a book contained in a school library. That book had imagery and language seen as pornographic and inappropriate to be read during a public meeting.
Self-described disabled veteran, Mike Cee, was removed from the August 22 meeting at the Fort Worth (TX) Independent School District, after he starting to read content from a book about “homosexuality and satanism,” according to The Christian Post.
The book, called Flamer, is described on Amazon as “a book about a boy who hates gay boys and discovers his own identity at camp.” The book is further described as a “graphic novel.” The book includes references to oral sex and masturbation.
While walking to the podium, Mr. Cee referenced God and Satan while calling on attendees to “do the right thing,” the Post reported. “Some in this room may or may not know this. Satan rules the world. Satan speaks through some of you,” Cee said. “It could be some of these board members; it could be some of the audience. God has given us free will to do the right thing.”
As Cee began reading the book, a school board member warned him that any vulgar language from the book would not be allowed.
“On page one, it says, ‘OK, who wants my hot wiener? Oh yea baby,” Cee started to read as a board member believed to be the chairman pounded his gavel. “We’re talking about a hot dog here. Page two…”
At that point, Cee’s microphone was cut off, and he was approached by police officers, who escorted him out of the room. That caused some in the audience to protest, with one shouting out, “Don’t touch him. He didn’t break the law.”
According to video footage of the meeting, Cee was taken into an adjacent room, where he admonished police officers, telling them, “This book is in the school system, and you are defending it.”
At one point, bystanders are heard again telling police, “Don’t touch him! You don’t have the authority to,” as one officer began grabbing Cee around the waist.
“I am a disabled veteran; stop pushing me!” Cee said. “Get your hands off me!” Cee was then removed from the building by police.
A spokesperson from the school district told The Christian Post that the school district “is committed to fostering a respectful and inclusive environment, where all community members can voice their opinions and concerns in accordance with Board Policy.”
The statement continued, in part: “During our last meeting, an individual was escorted out after failing to comply with repeated warnings from the Board president and legal counsel. We deeply value open dialogue. We invite everyone to share their perspectives while upholding decorum. The Board is receptive to public commentary and kindly asks all speakers to respect each other and Board policy.”
Texas passed House Bill 900, which goes into effect on September 1. That measure requires the rating of books available in public schools and removed if necessary to guard against exposing children to obscene content. The District said they are being “proactive” in complying with the law.
Flamer was among three books containing obscene content discovered by parents and independent journalists in Fort Worth schools.
Earlier in August, another book describing masturbation, pedophilia, and anti-Christian ideology was found in two Texas school district libraries, Fort Worth being among them.
The move by the Fort Worth school district came one week after a US district judge in Texas found school board members in Round Rock, Texas, violated a father’s constitutional rights when he was forcibly removed from school board meetings in 2021, The Daily Signal reported.
That man, Jeremy Story, had raised concerns about allegations a superintendent had assaulted and threatened a former girlfriend.
“I was arrested and jailed for exposing the misdeeds of trustees and administrators,” Story told the Daily Signal in an exclusive statement. Story, a father of seven whose children attend or attended the Round Rock Independent School District schools, said the school district violated his free speech rights.
“The school district’s attempts to dismiss our claims and sweep them under the ‘legal rug’ have failed,” he said. “What is at stake is the basic right to free speech without fear of government retaliation.”
Judge David Alan Ezra, who serves on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division, upheld many Story’s claims against the school district, the superintendent, five of seven school board trustees, and members of the Round Rock Police Department.
While Ezra didn’t find the defendants guilty of Story’s claims, he rejected their motions to dismiss the case, allowing Story’s lawsuit to proceed.
Among motions to dismiss Ezra rejected included claims the board violated Story’s First Amendment rights, retaliation for engaging in constitutionally protected speech, and barring him from a meeting open to the public. Story will be permitted to move forward on those claims.
The judge also ruled police violated Story’s Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable seizure and false arrest and that the school board president violated his 14th Amendment right to equal protection under the law. He also ruled school officials violated the Texas Open Meetings Act.
Story was removed from the Sept. 17, 2021, meeting at the direction of school board president Amy Weir after he began speaking about Superintendent Hafedh Azaiez being subject to a domestic violence protective order.
As he began speaking, Weir nodded to Round Rock school district police officers attending the meeting. Story was escorted out of the building.
In a statement to Fox News, Weir denied attempting to silence Story. “There has never been an attempt to silence Mr. Story.” The man had written on a note card what he was planning to speak about and noted that “unlike the board, citizens are not required to speak on items on the agenda,” indicating “he was planning to speak on a topic not listed for the meeting.”
In a previous meeting on Sept. 14, 2021, the school district set up only 18 chairs in a room designed to hold 300, which some saw as a tactic to prevent the public from attending the meeting. That meeting included a tax increase, which was passed.
Story claimed he was forcibly held back by police at that meeting and suffered a back injury as a result. The Fourth Amendment and Texas Open Meetings Act violations are traced back to that meeting.
Azaiez was temporarily suspended in 2022 as an investigation into the domestic violence allegations was investigated by the Texas Education Association. This investigation determined that Azaiez “could not come back into his position and be effective.” Despite that, he remains on the job.
For Story, he told The Daily Signal he believes his case has national implications.
“The federal government has tried to paint parents as the problem,” he said. “They have even gone so far as to attempt to prosecute them as domestic terrorists. This case will show that the real problem is how public school boards are overstepping their bounds and violating parents’ rights.”
He noted that “such violations don’t see the light of day” typically and accused school boards of “hid[ing] behind lawyers who overpower parents.”
“The public will get a glimpse into the horrors of what many parents are dealing with nationwide,” Story continued.
Self-described disabled veteran, Mike Cee, was removed from the August 22 meeting at the Fort Worth (TX) Independent School District, after he starting to read content from a book about “homosexuality and satanism,” according to The Christian Post.
The book, called Flamer, is described on Amazon as “a book about a boy who hates gay boys and discovers his own identity at camp.” The book is further described as a “graphic novel.” The book includes references to oral sex and masturbation.
While walking to the podium, Mr. Cee referenced God and Satan while calling on attendees to “do the right thing,” the Post reported. “Some in this room may or may not know this. Satan rules the world. Satan speaks through some of you,” Cee said. “It could be some of these board members; it could be some of the audience. God has given us free will to do the right thing.”
As Cee began reading the book, a school board member warned him that any vulgar language from the book would not be allowed.
“On page one, it says, ‘OK, who wants my hot wiener? Oh yea baby,” Cee started to read as a board member believed to be the chairman pounded his gavel. “We’re talking about a hot dog here. Page two…”
At that point, Cee’s microphone was cut off, and he was approached by police officers, who escorted him out of the room. That caused some in the audience to protest, with one shouting out, “Don’t touch him. He didn’t break the law.”
According to video footage of the meeting, Cee was taken into an adjacent room, where he admonished police officers, telling them, “This book is in the school system, and you are defending it.”
At one point, bystanders are heard again telling police, “Don’t touch him! You don’t have the authority to,” as one officer began grabbing Cee around the waist.
“I am a disabled veteran; stop pushing me!” Cee said. “Get your hands off me!” Cee was then removed from the building by police.
A spokesperson from the school district told The Christian Post that the school district “is committed to fostering a respectful and inclusive environment, where all community members can voice their opinions and concerns in accordance with Board Policy.”
The statement continued, in part: “During our last meeting, an individual was escorted out after failing to comply with repeated warnings from the Board president and legal counsel. We deeply value open dialogue. We invite everyone to share their perspectives while upholding decorum. The Board is receptive to public commentary and kindly asks all speakers to respect each other and Board policy.”
Texas passed House Bill 900, which goes into effect on September 1. That measure requires the rating of books available in public schools and removed if necessary to guard against exposing children to obscene content. The District said they are being “proactive” in complying with the law.
Flamer was among three books containing obscene content discovered by parents and independent journalists in Fort Worth schools.
Earlier in August, another book describing masturbation, pedophilia, and anti-Christian ideology was found in two Texas school district libraries, Fort Worth being among them.
The move by the Fort Worth school district came one week after a US district judge in Texas found school board members in Round Rock, Texas, violated a father’s constitutional rights when he was forcibly removed from school board meetings in 2021, The Daily Signal reported.
That man, Jeremy Story, had raised concerns about allegations a superintendent had assaulted and threatened a former girlfriend.
“I was arrested and jailed for exposing the misdeeds of trustees and administrators,” Story told the Daily Signal in an exclusive statement. Story, a father of seven whose children attend or attended the Round Rock Independent School District schools, said the school district violated his free speech rights.
“The school district’s attempts to dismiss our claims and sweep them under the ‘legal rug’ have failed,” he said. “What is at stake is the basic right to free speech without fear of government retaliation.”
Judge David Alan Ezra, who serves on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division, upheld many Story’s claims against the school district, the superintendent, five of seven school board trustees, and members of the Round Rock Police Department.
While Ezra didn’t find the defendants guilty of Story’s claims, he rejected their motions to dismiss the case, allowing Story’s lawsuit to proceed.
Among motions to dismiss Ezra rejected included claims the board violated Story’s First Amendment rights, retaliation for engaging in constitutionally protected speech, and barring him from a meeting open to the public. Story will be permitted to move forward on those claims.
The judge also ruled police violated Story’s Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable seizure and false arrest and that the school board president violated his 14th Amendment right to equal protection under the law. He also ruled school officials violated the Texas Open Meetings Act.
Story was removed from the Sept. 17, 2021, meeting at the direction of school board president Amy Weir after he began speaking about Superintendent Hafedh Azaiez being subject to a domestic violence protective order.
As he began speaking, Weir nodded to Round Rock school district police officers attending the meeting. Story was escorted out of the building.
In a statement to Fox News, Weir denied attempting to silence Story. “There has never been an attempt to silence Mr. Story.” The man had written on a note card what he was planning to speak about and noted that “unlike the board, citizens are not required to speak on items on the agenda,” indicating “he was planning to speak on a topic not listed for the meeting.”
In a previous meeting on Sept. 14, 2021, the school district set up only 18 chairs in a room designed to hold 300, which some saw as a tactic to prevent the public from attending the meeting. That meeting included a tax increase, which was passed.
Story claimed he was forcibly held back by police at that meeting and suffered a back injury as a result. The Fourth Amendment and Texas Open Meetings Act violations are traced back to that meeting.
Azaiez was temporarily suspended in 2022 as an investigation into the domestic violence allegations was investigated by the Texas Education Association. This investigation determined that Azaiez “could not come back into his position and be effective.” Despite that, he remains on the job.
For Story, he told The Daily Signal he believes his case has national implications.
“The federal government has tried to paint parents as the problem,” he said. “They have even gone so far as to attempt to prosecute them as domestic terrorists. This case will show that the real problem is how public school boards are overstepping their bounds and violating parents’ rights.”
He noted that “such violations don’t see the light of day” typically and accused school boards of “hid[ing] behind lawyers who overpower parents.”
“The public will get a glimpse into the horrors of what many parents are dealing with nationwide,” Story continued.
For corrections or revisions, click here.
The opinions reflected in this article are not necessarily the opinions of LET
Comments
2023-08-28T15:37-0400 | Comment by: James
So this book is band from an adult school board audience hearing it but these same anti-Christian socialists give it to your children to read?! Every parent in that room should immediately remove their child from that school! When will you people stand up, if not for your child! What a shame!!!