A Wisconsin father shocked the crowd at a high school graduation as he rushed the stage to stop his daughter from shaking hands with the superintendent.
Matt Eddy, 49, interrupted the Baraboo High School ceremony as he ran to his daughter as she was about to receive her diploma on Friday.
As she worked her way through a line of school officials, shaking their hand, Eddy grabbed superintendent Rainey Briggs by the arm and pushed him aside.
‘That’s my daughter,’ the man is heard saying in the footage, as his daughter looks mortified. At some point he appears to say: ‘I don’t want her touching him.’
As his daughter worked her way through a line of school officials, shaking their hand, Matt Eddy grabbed superintendent Rainey Briggs by the arm and pushed him aside (far left)
Superintendent Briggs replied: ‘You better get up off me man. Get away from me bro.’
Police escorted Eddy out of the building following the confrontation and arrested him for disorderly conduct.
Briggs has recently received backlash from the community, as have other officials and the school board, per Wisconsin News.
A group of residents is currently trying to recall school board president Kevin Vodak, who was at the graduation.
Vodak has been accused of favoritism and providing inadequate pay and support for teachers.
While the reasons behind Eddy’s actions remain unclear, social media users have been slamming him as they accuse him of ruining his daughter’s special moment
While the reasons behind Eddy’s actions remain unclear, social media users have been slamming him as they accuse him of ruining his daughter’s special moment.
One YouTube user said: ‘Can’t be that great of a father to do that to your daughter.
‘She will only have one high school graduation, and he decided to make it about him.’
Another said: ‘I don’t think there’s anything in this world that could make me embarrass and disrespect my child like that.
‘Her face and reaction made me want to cry for her.’
The school district, meanwhile, said in a statement: ‘Our primary focus remains on celebrating the achievements of our graduates.
Briggs has recently received backlash from the community, as have other officials and the school board, per local outlets
‘We want to ensure that the significance of this milestone and the hard work of our students are not overshadowed by this unfortunate event.’
The district added that they are working with law enforcement.
‘We would like to emphasize that the safety and well-being of our students, staff, and community members is a top priority… The School District of Baraboo is taking this incident very seriously.’
The school board also issued a statement commenting Eddy.
‘No employee of the School District of Baraboo should fear for their physical safety when fulfilling their job duties or at any other time,’ the school board said.
Police escorted Eddy out of the building following the confrontation and arrested him for disorderly conduct
‘That this adult felt emboldened to behave in this way in front of hundreds of students and other adults should deeply trouble us all; this type of behavior will not be tolerated.’
A disorderly conduct charge has been referred to the Sauk County District Attorney’s Office.
DailyMail.com reached out to Eddy for comment on this story.
Baraba high school was in headlines in 2018 after an image emerged appearing to show students giving a Nazi salute.
In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com at the time, Peter Gust insisted that the virtually all-white group of boys were merely waving goodbye to their parents, not making any political statement.
‘I am very frustrated and find it reprehensible that people all over the world can snap to a judgment without knowing any facts and go ape — and it is coming from all over the world,’ he said.
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