A Coloradomiddle-schooler who was reportedly removed from class for having a Gadsden flag patch on his backpack has now broken his silence. Jaiden, 12, of The Vanguard School, was told he must remove the patch before he comes back to the class. The yellow flag features a coiled rattlesnake with the phrase “Don’t tread on me” written over it.
After the incident, the school received massive media attention. There was widespread outrage over the child being kicked out because of the flag. The school’s board of directors later called an emergency meeting and eventually walked back its demands that asked Jaden to remove the flag. He was allowed to return to class with the patch on his backpack.
In a video now shared on X, Jaiden says, “Today was a good day. The kids were really hyped up. They are putting 'don't tread on me' on their locker. Now they like me all of sudden. But the teachers on the other hand, I got some dirty looks that's for sure. They are definitely not happy with me.”
The school’s administrators, however, pointed out that Jaiden also had “half a dozen other patches of semi-automatic weapons” attached to his backpack.
Why was Jaiden removed from class for carrying the patch?
{{/usCountry}}The school’s administrators, however, pointed out that Jaiden also had “half a dozen other patches of semi-automatic weapons” attached to his backpack.
Why was Jaiden removed from class for carrying the patch?
{{/usCountry}}A video posted on X shows the school’s administrator telling Jaiden’s mother that the patch had to be removed because of the flag’s “origins with slavery and the slave trade.” The mother responds that one can trace back the origin of the flag to the Revolutionary War, and not slavery.
The origin of the flag can indeed be traced back to the American Revolution, also referred to as the United States War of Independence or American Revolutionary War. The war led to 13 of Great Britain’s North American colonies to win political independence. They went on to form the United States of America. After the US achieved independence, it adopted the Stars and Stripes as the official national flag in 1777. The Gadsden flag, therefore, received little mention. The flag was named after Christopher Gadsden, a South Carolina delegate to the Continental Congress and brigadier general in the Continental Army, who designed it.