New Jersey father arrested for barging into classroom to confront teen: ‘Apologize to my daughter’
An overprotective New Jersey father has been arrested after he was caught on camera walking into a high school classroom to yell at a teenage boy and grab another student by the arm.
Aaron Thomas, 38, was filmed entering the classroom at Paulsboro High School in Gloucester County on Monday and demanding that a teenage boy apologize to his daughter.
“You got a problem with my daughter?” he asks the teenager in the video posted to Instagram.
“Apologize to my daughter,” he demands.
The frightened child replies that he “didn’t do nothing to her,” but Thomas apparently did not accept that as an answer as his voice grew louder and more adamant.
“You heard what the f– I said. Apologize to my daughter — now.”
An adult could only be seen intervening after more than a minute into the father’s barrage, putting his hand on the father’s back and trying to escort him from the room as the parent started to verbally spar with a second student.
“It’s not worth it,” the adult can be heard trying to tell the father, who apparently laughs at the fact that he left the first teenager “shaking.”
He can then be seen making some sort of physical contact with the second student, with police alleging that he grabbed the student’s arm, according to NJ Advance Media.
Thomas then walked out of the classroom and left school property.
It remains unclear who let Thomas into the classroom and how he tracked down the student with whom his daughter was having a dispute.
Thomas was at the high school Monday to sign out his daughter, who was apparently having an issue with the student over photos being shared with others, according to an affidavit obtained by 6 ABC.
The teacher did not have his school radio within reach when Thomas barged into the classroom, and instead tried to defuse the situation by speaking to the aggravated father directly, the affidavit says, per NJ Advance Media.
It was only after Thomas had left that the school’s head of security was notified about the incident, and another three hours until school officials called cops, NJ Advance Media reports.
Thomas was later arrested and charged with simple assault, making terroristic threats, trespassing, and disorderly conduct.
He was released Tuesday until a trial could be held on the charges, but a judge ordered that he must have no contact with the students involved or their families and must maintain monthly contact with court officials, according to NJ Advance Media.
Meanwhile, the 15-year-old boy who was confronted by Thomas was back in class Wednesday — but was forced to leave after receiving anonymous threats on his cellphone, his parents told NJ Advance Media.
They condemned school officials for failing to swiftly respond as their son was being berated by the angry father, and they are considering pulling the boy out of the public school district, but the son is “totally distraught” at the idea.
The parents also dismissed the notion that Thomas was simply trying to defend his daughter.
“We’re talking about two 15-year-old children doing children nonsense and a father taking matters into his own hands,” the boy’s father told NJ Advance. “And not to mention how the teacher in the classroom stood there idly by watching as this all happened.
“And then they say, ‘Dad defends daughter,’” he said of those coming to Thomas’ defense.
“No, Dad was a coward.”
In a letter to parents, school district officials said they are cooperating with the police investigation and have “communicated with all involved parties.”
Acting Superintendent Phillip C. Neff said he could not release additional details about the case, but insisted, “Safety and security of our staff and students is paramount.”
“Unfortunate situations such as these give us an opportunity to reflect and analyze current practices to further strengthen the district’s safety and security procedures to ensure that our schools are a safe place for all students and staff.”
