TThe superintendent of the Wisconsin school district that was attacked by an irate parent at last month’s high school graduation says the incident left him concerned for his safety and the safety of everyone else present at the ceremony, and that he passed the rest of the night “looking over (your) shoulder.”
The tense moment between Baraboo School District Superintendent Rainey Briggs and the father — identified by authorities as Matthew Eddy — occurred at the Baraboo High School graduation ceremony on May 31, when Eddy stormed the stage and grabbed Briggs by the arm . Eddy pushed Briggs away before the administrator could shake hands with Eddy’s daughter, who was walking across the stage to receive her diploma and shaking hands with school district employees. Video of the incident went viral in the days following the ceremony and sparked outrage online, with many people calling Eddy’s actions racistsince Eddy is white and Briggs is black.
Briggs told TIME that he initially didn’t understand what was happening on stage. He didn’t recognize Eddy and didn’t know why Eddy would interrupt the ceremony. After Eddy grabbed him and said “You’re not going to touch my fucking daughter’s hand,” Briggs recalls, he began to worry that Eddy might try to attack him.
“Am I safe now?” he says he asked himself at that moment. “Is everyone else in this space safe?”
“I didn’t know what he was going to do,” Briggs continues. “I can’t believe this is happening. The space is not safe, but I still had to continue with the event.”
“From that moment on, for the rest of the night, I’m kind of looking over my shoulder.”
See more information: Superintendent requests restraining order against father who invaded stage at graduation
Eddy has since received a criminal citation for disorderly conduct. Briggs was granted a temporary restraining order against Eddy, according to local court records. Briggs also says the district sent a letter to Eddy informing him that he is no longer welcome on any Baraboo School District property.
Eddy did not respond to TIME’s multiple requests for comment, but a Baraboo Police Department report obtained by TIME reveals a little more information about the possible motive behind Eddy’s actions.
According to the report, Eddy and his daughter “had previous issues” with Briggs — who was appointed superintendent in July 2021 – and “I don’t like him”. Eddy told the school resource officer that he responded to the stage-barging incident because he wanted to prevent the superintendent from “having the satisfaction” of shaking his daughter’s hand. (Authorities redacted Eddy’s daughter’s name from the police report because she is a minor.)
Briggs tells TIME he doesn’t know Eddy and has never spoken to him. Three years ago, he and other administrators had a “meeting” with Eddy regarding his daughter, which he believes are the “past issues” Eddy referred to in his interview with police. Briggs refuses to share further details about that meeting, citing student confidentiality. According to the police report, however, Briggs told the officer that Eddy’s daughter had been expelled from Baraboo High School, but added that he does not interact directly with parents when it comes to expulsions.
“I don’t know what the problem is,” Briggs told TIME. “Matthew Eddy never indicated to me that there was a problem, nor did the student.”
When asked if he believes Eddy’s actions were motivated by racism, Briggs says he can’t say, but that “the optics don’t look good.” He says he hasn’t personally interacted with Eddy since the graduation ceremony and still doesn’t know why Eddy feels so angry at him specifically or why Eddy chose that moment to express it.
“Matthew Eddy is the only person who can really say what his motivations were,” says Briggs. “I don’t want to speak for Matthew Eddy.”
According to the police report, the investigator told Eddy after the incident that his actions were “not acceptable” and “could have been handled in a much more appropriate manner” that did not disrupt the ceremony for everyone else, including his wife. daughter. When the officer asked Eddy if he was sorry for his actions, Eddy said yes, but only for the sake of his daughter.
The officer said in the report that he believes this was something Eddy had “pre-planned.”
Briggs says the incident with Eddy made him “a little more aware” of his surroundings and his safety. Immediately after the ceremony, Briggs left school to return home and called his wife to tell her what had happened, who was shocked by the news.
The incident didn’t just affect him and his family, he says, but also the district’s community. He says that the students who were supposed to be celebrating graduation had this important moment interrupted by Eddy’s actions.
“It brought more community attention to an event that should have been a celebration for 250 students, even his daughter,” Briggs says. “My heart goes out to your daughter, my heart goes out to the other 250 students.”
“If I could talk to Mr. Eddy, I think the only question I would ask him would be: Why then? Why haven’t you spoken to me in three years? Briggs continues. “How do you see yourself restoring the situation based on the damage done to the community?”
Briggs says he wants to emphasize that this incident with Eddy is not representative of the Baraboo community.
“I don’t want this situation… to have a lasting impact on this community in a way that makes people not want to be here, that makes people think this is the worst community in the country, because it isn’t,” he says. Briggs. “It’s a very strong community. … There are a lot of people who care.”
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This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
