Police say a teen wearing a cap with a Donald Trump campaign slogan was beaten and kicked as hundreds of students staged a walkout to protest Trump's election.
A 15-year-old Richard Montgomery High School student wearing a "Make America Great Again'' cap was participating in the walkout Wednesday with about 300 to 500 students from the school, Rockville Police spokesman Maj. Michael England said. Students marched to the county courthouse carrying signs and chanting "Love Trumps Hate!''
England says the teen's argument with one person turned violent and four others jumped in. He says the student was "woozy'' and couldn't remember what happened, but England believes the teen's injuries are minor. No charges were filed, but the incident is under investigation.
England says the crowd was otherwise peaceful.
Later on Wednesday, Montgomery County Public Schools Superintendent Jack Smith posted a video asking students to remain in school and stop protesting.
Protestors march through Rockville Town Square #nbc4dc @nbcwashington pic.twitter.com/p1zdPTFhP1
— Jason Gittlen (@NBCJason) November 16, 2016
"Our goal is to keep our students safe, under adult supervision and engaged in the learning process. It is for this reason that I am asking and expecting all students to remain in school and participate in the daily educational program as intended," Smith said in the video.
Posts on Twitter show students from James Hubert Blake High School in Silver Spring holding a protest of their own. The demonstrations mark the third day local high school students have walked out of class to protest President-elect Trump.
On Tuesday, young people who said they went to Benjamin Banneker Academic High School, Woodrow Wilson High School and Sidwell Friends School in Northwest D.C. protested outside the Trump International Hotel in downtown D.C.
Hundreds of students chanted outside the luxury hotel and held signs that read "My Body My Rights," "We Are Wilson High School" and "Don't Make America Hate Again."
"We all came out here from all different types of schools across the city. We came and we united as one," one student said.
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Video footage from News4's Shomari Stone showed a young person climbing onto a windowsill of the hotel, standing and waving a rainbow flag. Another young person climbed to the top of the Benjamin Franklin statue on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Students from at least seven high schools in the D.C. area have protested in the past two days.
The week started with about 800 students from Montgomery Blair High School walking out of class and onto the school's football field, Montgomery County Public Schools spokeswoman Gboyinde Onijala said. Many students returned to class, but some marched from the school to downtown Silver Spring, about 3 miles away.
The school allowed the peaceful protest to occur on school property, during school hours. However, it was expected to remain on campus, schools spokesman Derek Turner said.
Many students said they felt that staying on the football field would not make enough of a statement.
The students chanted "We reject the president-elect," "not my president" and "no justice, no peace."
Students from Blair High were joined along the way by students from Northwood High School and Albert Einstein High School.
"We're not protesting for a new president. We're protesting to have our voices heard," one student said.
