Members of an Illinois school board tried to walk out on a Bosnian immigrant sharing his experience of fleeing genocide and an authoritarian regime, the Daily Wire reports. He was speaking against the district’s decision to enforce mask mandates even after a judge issued a temporary restraining order on the policy.
“Thirty minutes into the meeting, where public comment was on the agenda, board members tried to go into closed session,” KMOV4 News reported. “Two board members even tried walking out of the meeting until the board president told them to sit down. After parents realized the board was trying to go into a closed session, they argued back and forth for several minutes, some even yelling.”
“This gentleman immigrated from Bosnia under threat of genocide when he was in 5th grade. The CUSD unit 10 school board attempted to gavel out the meeting while he was speaking,” Daily Wire reporter Virginia Kruta says.
The father finally got a chance to speak about his experience.
“It was the simple small things, because you couldn’t walk down the street and tell your neighbor how you really felt, because your neighbor might rat out on you,” he said. “And that’s where we’re at right now, we’re starting to see that.”
“Secondly, they forced every one of us to register our guns,” he continued. “I was very young, but I have vivid memories of the Serbs coming in and beating my parents, beating my mother, doing many other things to many other women.”
“So, I came over here and started out in 5th grade,” the dad said. “I was always the person to stand up for my principles, so I’m starting to teach my child to do the same thing.”
“I fell in love with this country,” he said. “My favorite subject was civics, U.S. history.”
“This is becoming way too political and way too tyrannical. There’s absolutely no reason for this. None.”
“I have to say one more thing, and it’s simple: We all want to be civil, and we all want to do this the right way, but I’m telling you, if you do not stop complying, you will lose everything that you have,” the father warned, met with applause from parents.
“Stop complying,” he said through a standing ovation. “Stop complying.”
Watch below:
This gentleman immigrated from Bosnia under threat of genocide when he was in 5th grade. The CUSD unit 10 school board attempted to gavel out the meeting *while he was speaking.* 1/2 pic.twitter.com/TEN6tPRola
— Virginia Kruta (@VAKruta) February 8, 2022
Several members of the board got up and walked out before he finished. 2/2 pic.twitter.com/cDVhQFo9ut
— Virginia Kruta (@VAKruta) February 8, 2022
h/t The Daily Wire