The father of a Baraboo High School graduate forcefully intervened during the school’s graduation ceremony on Friday, May 31st, preventing a black superintendent from shaking his daughter’s hand.
As his daughter approached to receive her diploma, the father swiftly pulled district Superintendent Rainey Briggs away before she could greet him.
Wearing a white polo shirt and a baseball cap, the man rushed onto the stage immediately after his daughter received her diploma.
Before Superintendent Briggs could extend his hand, the father grabbed him by the arm, pushing him aside while loudly declaring, “That’s my daughter,” as captured in a video by TV43 Baraboo.
In the footage, Briggs responds, “You better get up off me, man. Get away from me, bro,” as graduation staff and three Baraboo police officers, including the school resource officer, intervened to address the situation.
A voice in the background can be heard expressing, “I don’t want her touching him.”
Following the incident, police escorted the man out of the school.
Despite the presence of other school officials on stage, including School Board President Kevin Vodak and Principal Steve Considine, the man specifically targeted Superintendent Briggs, who was the only black individual present.
District spokesperson Hailey Wagner later confirmed that a disorderly conduct charge has been referred to the Sauk County District Attorney’s Office for the father.
The father of a Baraboo High School graduate forcefully intervened during the school’s graduation ceremony on Friday, May 31st, preventing a black superintendent from shaking his daughter’s hand.
As his daughter approached to receive her diploma, the father swiftly pulled district Superintendent Rainey Briggs away before she could greet him.
Wearing a white polo shirt and a baseball cap, the man rushed onto the stage immediately after his daughter received her diploma.
Before Superintendent Briggs could extend his hand, the father grabbed him by the arm, pushing him aside while loudly declaring, “That’s my daughter,” as captured in a video by TV43 Baraboo.
In the footage, Briggs responds, “You better get up off me, man. Get away from me, bro,” as graduation staff and three Baraboo police officers, including the school resource officer, intervened to address the situation.
A voice in the background can be heard expressing, “I don’t want her touching him.”
Following the incident, police escorted the man out of the school.
Despite the presence of other school officials on stage, including School Board President Kevin Vodak and Principal Steve Considine, the man specifically targeted Superintendent Briggs, who was the only black individual present.
District spokesperson Hailey Wagner later confirmed that a disorderly conduct charge has been referred to the Sauk County District Attorney’s Office for the father.
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