A man who has been attempting to bring his maskless daughter to school was arrested Wednesday for shoving a student while protesting Broward County Public Schools' mandatory mask policy.
Over the past few days, Dan Bauman, 50, has been recording his attempts to get his daughter into Fort Lauderdale High School without a mask. In one video, he's heard telling a school official that his daughter "has a right to go in" and that "this is illegal what you’re doing."
“I don’t care, the school board policy is illegal, and she’s not gonna put on a mask, no matter what, it’s not gonna happen,” Bauman said in a previous interview with NBC 6.
Bauman was outside Fort Lauderdale High School once again on Wednesday morning, accompanying his daughter as she tried to enter the gate without a mask.
"Bauman was videotaping other students with his phone and causing a disturbance at the gate," a Fort Lauderdale Police spokesperson said. In an arrest report, Bauman was also described as "known to cause disruption due to protesting the school board's mask policy."
According to the report, a student was heard saying, "I've had enough for four days," and walked up to Bauman. She attempted to grab his cellphone while he was recording.
Bauman then pushed the student by the shoulder and grabbed her hand, twisting her arm, Fort Lauderdale police said in the report. An officer and security guard had to pull Bauman away from the student.
Bauman was arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse, according to online jail records. If convicted, he faces a maximum 30-year sentence and a $10,000 fine.
Bauman remains in Broward County's main jail pending a bond hearing. His lawyer, Corey Strolla, says Bauman was a victim of a robbery by sudden snatching and that he "used absolutely no unnecessary physical force to legally obtain his property back in his rightful possession."
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