A legal defense team has now come to the aid of Jacob Herrera, a teen who was reportedly shoved to the ground after failing to remove a rosary, according to Opposing Views.
Jacob was wearing a rosary outside his clothes while attending a middle-school football game in October when he was asked to remove the cross by Amarillo Police Cpl. Vern Wilson.
The rosary has been a symbol of Christianity—and cause for persecution—for centuries. Recently, though, it’s been affiliated with gang activity. The rosary was considered to be a dress-code violation because of gang connotations for the Amarillo Independent School District. When he didn’t remove it, Jacob was reportedly slammed to the ground by Wilson, according to a witness.
“You know, he handcuffed him and then crossed him across the street right there and slammed him again and he repeatedly slammed the child on the floor,” Marivell Chavez told News Channel 10 in Amarillo.
“We are not indicating that this is the case in this particular incident but that sometimes our youth are using rosary beads as a sign of gang affiliation or some gang apparel again we are not saying that’s what it is, but we have seen it with others here in the United States,” Corporal Jerry Neufeld told News Channel 10.
Jacob’s mother, Lori Martinez told News Channel 10 Jacob wears a rosary to remember his older brother, who died in 2012.
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