Four high school students in South Carolina have been expelled for the rest of the school year for sharing a video online that mocked George Floyd’s murder, officials said.
White House Knoll High School on Wednesday announced the suspensions after a video was posted to TikTok in which the students re-enacted Floyd’s death, the State reported.
“Though the video was created off campus at a private home and shared outside of school hours, the unacceptable and disturbing actions of these students negatively impact their school and all of our students,” White Knoll principal Ted Daughtrey wrote in an email to parents.
“The four students will not be allowed to return to school, nor participate in any athletic or extracurricular activities, for the remainder of the 2021-2022 school year.”
The suspensions come after a Change.org petition was created to ensure that the school “properly handled” the incident.
Lexington One Schools Superintendent Dr. Greg Little also denounced the students’ behavior.
“We strongly condemn the actions of these students,” Little said in the email. “Racism, in any form, will not be tolerated by our students or staff and will be addressed immediately.”
Floyd, a black man living in Minneapolis, died of asphyxiation caused by then-police officer Derek Chauvin kneeling on his neck for more than nine minutes in May 2020.
In June, Chauvin was sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison.