On the morning of May 25, 2021, six students — accompanied by an 18-year-old and a 37-year-old mother — entered a classroom at Southern Guilford High School in North Carolina and began assaulting a 14-year-old girl. Authorities believe the attack stemmed from a bus stop fight the day before. The apparent "revenge effort" came to fruition when a student assembled friends with a plan to attack the girl the next day. 'You look at parents as the ones who are supposed to be giving the kid guidance as to how to handle these types of things, not encouraging it ... [and] in this case — a parent that went too far and participated with their child in clearly criminal behavior.' Video of the assault obtained by WGHP-TV shows the group surrounding the student and using their arms and legs to punch and kick her over and over again for several seconds. The victim reportedly suffered only minor injuries to her face before faculty, staff, and a school resource officer intervened. The Guilford County Sheriff's Office reportedly was planning to file misdemeanor assault and first-degree trespassing charges against the assailants. WGHP-TV added that "they may also be accused of inciting a riot." The fact that the mother of one of the attacking students participated in the assault was disturbing to authorities. "You look at parents as the ones who are supposed to be giving the kid guidance as to how to handle these types of things, not encouraging it ... [and] in this case — a parent that went too far and participated with their child in clearly criminal behavior," the school's resource officer, Capt. Brian Hall, told WFMY-TV. The following are 10 other times parents threatened or physically attacked teachers, school staff members — and even students. Mom brings son, 7, to bus stop to fight boy — then she beats up boy's 13-year-old brother who was protecting him, cops sayMemphis police said a 13-year-old boy and his 7-year-old brother were waiting at a bus stop to go to school on December 1, 2023, when 25-year-old Rniya Criss pulled up with her 7-year-old son, WHBQ-TV reported. Criss wanted her son to fight the 13-year-old boy's younger brother, police told the station. But the 13-year-old boy intervened and said “his brother wasn’t going to fight anyone,” the Charlotte Observer reported, citing police. In addition, police said Criss then hit the 13-year-old boy in the face, WHBQ reported. The victim said she also kicked him in the neck, WREG-TV reported. The victim soon fell to the ground, and he was left with a bruise on his eye and an injured neck, WHBQ added. Police told WMC-TV the victim's father flagged down an officer regarding his son being assaulted at a Douglass Middle School bus stop. According to the Observer, the family wanted to prosecute, adding that police said the siblings identified the woman from a lineup. A warrant was issued Dec. 8, the paper said, adding that records show she was arrested in February 2024 and booked in the Shelby County Jail on charges of assault-bodily harm and child abuse and neglect, jail records state. WHBQ said the charges are misdemeanors. Jail records indicated she posted a $5,000 bond.Dad enters HS classroom, confronts student for allegedly bothering his daughter; dad charged for making threats, assaultA New Jersey father was caught on video entering a Paulsboro High School classroom on March 11, 2024, and confronting a male student for allegedly bothering his daughter — and that dad, Aaron Thomas of Gibbstown, was charged with several offenses, including entering an unauthorized section of the school, threatening to punch and knock out a student, and assault for allegedly grabbing a second student’s arm and getting in his face. Parent banned from his daughter's elementary school after allegedly punching teacher during argument with principal over masking double standardThe incident took place on the first day of school in August 2021 at Sutter Creek Elementary School in California's Amador County Unified School District. The male parent noted that the principal and his daughter were wearing masks, but teachers were not. The parent confronted the principal about the mask disparity when a male teacher stepped in between them. That argument escalated until the parent allegedly punched the teacher. The teacher suffered bleeding, bruising, and cuts to his face and was taken to a hospital for treatment. It isn't clear if charges were pursued against the parent.Parents of fighting students actually enter Philly high school and get physically involved in the fracas, forcing hour-long lockdownCellphone video shared with WTXF-TV shows a girl grabbing another girl's hair as they throw punches and slam into lockers at Paul Robeson High School on Jan. 22, 2024. Officials with the School District of Philadelphia added to the station that several family members of the students came to the school and also became physically involved in the fighting, which forced the school to call police and the Office of School Safety. Officials also told WTXF that students were moved into classrooms and a lockdown lasted for about an hour.Mom sneaks into middle school with students, then repeatedly punches teacher in class, breaking her facial bones: AuthoritiesThe parent of a female student was able to get past Lincoln Middle School security on the morning of Feb. 16, 2024, because she's short, had a hood over her head, and appeared to be a student, Syracuse.com reported, citing Syracuse School Superintendent Anthony Davis. Police said Lynzina Sutton, 31, then located a female teacher she was looking for, the outlet reported. District Attorney William Fitzpatrick told Syracuse.com that Sutton punched the teacher in the face multiple times, fracturing her nasal bone and maxillary spine bones and giving her a concussion. The teacher was released from a hospital, the outlet added. “These are injuries that you don’t often see in boxing matches, so they’re quite serious,” Fitzpatrick added to Syracuse.com. In a follow-up story, Syracuse.com said Sutton also is accused of threatening another teacher during the same incident and now faces a harassment charge and 11 counts of endangering the welfare of a child because students witnessed the assault.Dad gets in massive brawl with students on HS campus; conflicts between students and his sons apparently sparked fightingThe incident took place on May 3, 2022, at Arizona's Tucson High School, leading to the arrest of the father and a student. Much of the melee was caught on video, and conflicting stories about what led to the brawl were afoot. Willie Smith, 40, was called to the school to pick up his two sons, who were being sent home following an incident with another group of students, KOLD-TV reported, citing the interim complaint. School staff and safety officers told Smith that he and his sons should leave through a rear exit instead of through campus to avoid a confrontation, KOLD said, citing the document. But Smith said he didn’t feel they needed to do that since school staff didn't tell him his sons had done anything wrong to be sent home, the station said, citing the complaint. In addition, Smith allegedly told staff if the ongoing issue wasn't addressed, there would be a problem, the station reported. The document indicated that Smith said, “If it’s going down, it’s going down here,” KOLD reported, adding that officers said Smith was referring to his sons protecting themselves if they were provoked. Smith then took his sons through the courtyard during lunch, the station reported. While Smith and his sons walked through the courtyard, there was an exchange between students and Smith’s sons, and a fight broke out, KOLD said, citing the document, which also said Smith engaged in “mutual combat with a student.” Smith admitted to fighting with the student and claimed the student was assaulting his son, the station said, citing the complaint. Smith was arrested on a felony charge of disrupting an educational institute, Tucson police said, according to the station.'You talkin' s**t to my daughter?' Mom allegedly boards school bus, repeatedly punches 64-year-old driver, drags victim by her hairSurveillance video caught the moment when a mom allegedly boarded a school bus in Mesa, Arizona, asked the 64-year-old bus driver if she was "talkin' s**t" to her daughter," and then unleashed a flurry of punches on the driver — and even began dragging the screaming driver by her hair toward the bus exit. Police soon arrested 27-year-old Hermenegilda Marquez in connection with the April 11, 2024, incident, KSAZ-TV reported, adding that she's accused of aggravated assault on a school employee — a felony. Investigators stated that "the defendant was shown video of the attack on the bus and was told that because she was on video committing the assault, she would be charged with a felony, but she showed no emotion upon hearing this," KSAZ added.Mom 'barged' into 3rd-grade classroom, threatened and cursed out teacher, blocked door preventing teacher, students from leaving: ReportThe incident took place just after 8 a.m. on May 17, 2022, at Pyle Elementary School while the teacher was taking attendance, the Fresno Bee reported, citing a Fresno Teachers Association media release. The parent entered the school while campus gates were open, which allow a “free flow” of students heading to class, district spokesperson Diana Diaz told the paper. The parent and a teenage girl with her blocked the classroom door, preventing the teacher and her class from leaving the room while yelling and cursing at the teacher, the Bee said, citing the FTA statement. Another teacher overheard the disturbance and called police, who soon got the parent out of the school, the paper said. Dad faces charges after he allegedly took part in fight between his son and another studentKLAS-TV reported that the incident took place April 12, 2023, adjacent to Dell H. Robison Middle School in Las Vegas. Videos of the fight, which circulated on social media, show a man identified as Jose Montes, 39, in the middle of the fight surrounded by numerous students, the station said. The video appears to show the adult male kicking a student in the head, KLAS said, adding that the student is on the ground with his arms wrapped around his head to protect himself. Montes turned himself in at the Clark County Detention Center and was facing charges including child abuse and battery, the station said, adding that victim's mother said her son was recuperating with “concussion-like” symptoms after two trips to the hospital. About a week later, a judge ordered Montes released on electronic monitoring, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.Parent tears off female teacher's COVID mask during heated exchange amid school masking requirementsWhile it fell short of an out-and-out physical attack, the district superintendent deemed the incident an assault. The altercation, according to the Washington Post, took place during the first week of the 2021-22 school year in the Eanes Independent School District in Austin. Superintendent Tom Leonard said a "parent physically assaulted a teacher by ripping a mask off her face ..." and that "this type of behavior will not be tolerated in Eanes ISD. Our staff are on the front lines of this pandemic; let's give them some space and grace. Please, I am asking everyone to be kind ... do not fight mask wars in our schools." A district spokesperson said the incident wasn't reported to local police. Like Blaze News? 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In January 2000, two American Episcopal priests traveled to Singapore to be consecrated as missionary bishops by the Anglican primates of Rwanda and Southeast Asia. The consecration was a reaction to the growing acceptance of homosexuality in the more liberal Episcopal church. My home parish, St. Gregory of Nyssa Church in San Francisco, exemplified this trend. As a sexually active gay man who aspired to the priesthood, I reasoned that these bishops and I were "enemies." So I did the Christian thing and prayed for them. Hell is being driven by one’s desires and fantasies and being told that to deny them is to deny the only joy there is, the joy that defines your whole being. St. Gregory’s church was big on praying for our enemies; you should have seen us on 9/11. 'Lord, have mercy' One Sunday I took my prayers public. I stood vested as a deacon in the morning liturgy and raised my hands upward, mentioning the two bishops by name and asking the congregation to pray that they receive God’s blessing and guidance. In essence this meant “if they’re wrong, God help them; if they’re right, God advance them," to which the congregation was meant to respond "Lord, have mercy." Before they could, a priest stepped forward to the middle of the room and loudly appended his own prayer to mine: “and for their conversion!” "Lord, have mercy," replied the congregation. In an extended email conversation among the liturgical staff after that event, it became evident that this priest (one of the two rectors of the church) thought my prayer misguided: They were wrong and we were right. No divine "guidance" was necessary. This priest had just come out himself and had obviously embraced the current gay orthodoxy: These two men wanted to send us all back to the dark ages, and we needed them to be enlightened. We were called to enlighten them. I was familiar with this view. Five or six years earlier, I'd had a conversation with my boss at the Episcopal Church Center in New York, where I was working as an administrative assistant. He was a gay man (he lived with his clergy "spouse") whose work brought him into regular contact with older, more traditional members of the church leadership. I asked him how we as gay Christians could make room for those who disagree with us. Shouldn't we as gay folks be less confrontational about our personal lives, so as to follow St. Paul's admonition not to scandalize each other? The answer was a clear “no.” There was no room for "homophobes" in the church. In the words of Barbara Harris, the first female bishop in the Episcopal church, “Let them go.” Or, “Goodbye and don’t let the door hit you on the way out." But I had begun to realize that this view conflicted with my desire to live as an orthodox (small "o") Christian. 'You are mad, you are not like us' My misgivings did not go unnoticed. A few months after the incident, the other rector of our parish asked me point-blank why I wanted to be in communion with those who didn’t want to be in communion with me. And why, for that matter, was I withdrawing from those who did want to be in communion with me? But to me it was clear that these old friends and familiar faces were the ones rejecting me. Not for my sexuality but rather for the liberal heresy of believing in the Bible and the created order of things, of believing in a bodily crucified and bodily resurrected Christ. Abba Anthony of Egypt once said: “A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him, saying: ‘You are mad, you are not like us.’” I was mad in their eyes. They merely wanted to help me be who I was. But the words of Fr. Alexander Schmemann came to mind: "Salvation is not only not identical with help, but is, in fact, opposed to it.” I managed to stay in the Episcopal Church until Easter 2002. In July of that year I was chrismated into the Orthodox Church. In August 2004 the Episcopal Church confirmed Gene Robinson as the first openly non-celibate gay man to serve as bishop. He would live in the bishop's residence with his sexual partner. This only confirmed my decision to walk away. I was far from alone: Hundreds of parishes left the church, eventually leading to schism within the Anglican Communion. And yet Canon Robinson downplayed the scandal this would cause. He went on CNN and predicted that his election would bring hundreds of people into a church that they now saw as welcoming and inclusive. I have to admit, part of me could see the appeal of his vision. The chance to attend a rite with one’s lover, to sit there and enjoy the music, to be told God loves you, and to hear a sermon about “green ecology” and “social justice” and “liberal politics” would be a lovely way to spend a Sunday morning, followed by coffee and maybe brunch with friends at some local eatery. We’d all go home and feel much more affirmed. And what's wrong with a little affirmation? 'I was in hell. I know what hell is.' The same sophisticated, modern thinking that has given us polyamory and unlimited, near-instantaneous access to pornography has also taught us that ancient cultures were horribly backward in their understanding of sex and sexuality. It is so painfully obvious that the aberration of Judeo-Christian ethics must be stopped that some folks will go so far as to imply that such morals are not part of the faith at all — and were never intended to be included in the “enlightened” teachings of Jesus. There is, however, another view: In 1956, Eugene Rose, a a 22-year-old gay man living in San Francisco, wrote a letter to a friend, which a 2001 article in Pomona College magazine quotes: … my mother has discovered, rather illegitimately (I shall tell you of it later) that I am homosexual; if you have not surmised the fact already, it is time you know of it. I have not quite been kicked out of the house, but I probably shall not return after September. My mother was quite hysterical, but my father persuaded her that I am only "sick." I have agreed to go to my friend’s psychiatrist in S.F., which I was rather interested in doing for other reasons, at parental expense.I suppose you have also surmised by now that I shall live this summer, and sleep, with a young man I love, and who loves me. The article goes on to recount Rose's conversion: It was Rose’s gay partner in San Francisco who introduced him to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia. But while Rose was immersing himself in the mystique of ancient Orthodoxy, his partner, who had written a book about the Church, was losing interest in it. Soon the Church took Rose wholly, and he and his partner split up. A social doctrine adopted by the Council of Bishops of the Moscow Patriarchate last year describes homosexuality as “a sinful injury to human nature” to be “treated by sacraments, prayer, fasting, repentance and the reading of the Holy Scriptures.” Referring to his young adult years before he became fully involved in the Orthodox Church, Rose once said: “I was in hell. I know what hell is.” I was in hell. I know what hell is. I stand by those words of the man who became Fr. Seraphim. This hell is being driven by one’s hormones and believing that to deny them is unhealthy. Hell is being driven by one’s desires and fantasies and believing that to deny them is to deny the only joy there is, the joy that defines your whole being. Hell is a fine San Francisco morning standing in one’s bedroom while an orgy takes place in the hallway outside. Hell is a foggy San Francisco afternoon standing in a room full of men involved in various actions with each other — and somewhere a voice tells you it’s all wrong, but you don’t know what to do. Hell is a balmy evening on a back porch listening to ten gay men in the middle of the most liberal Episcopal diocese in the country insist that all churches are homophobic and evil. Hell is being told in a Sunday sermon that Jesus died in 1st-century Judea, that Jesus isn’t alive, that Jesus isn’t coming back, and that he would want you to “follow your bliss” to find the will of God in your life — all of this when you know now that your “bliss” makes you more depressed every time you indulge in it. Hell is a “Pride Parade” where no one looks at you, where no one returns your compliments, where no one bothers to notice you — on a day when egos are supposed to be full and fluffy, hell is having one’s ego bashed. Hell is knowing that at this point, someone reading this essay will say “Oh, he’s ugly and bitter, that’s all.” Hell is watching your friends die for the sake of their own freedom to damn themselves — and hearing them cry, “I didn’t do anything to deserve this. … God is hateful.” Hell is knowing that there is the slightest possibility that these “Jesus Seminar” folks and these other “new theologians” are wrong. That 2,000+ years of orthodox Christians are right: What if gay sex is evil? Hell is also standing next to those who end that conversation by saying, “Oh, shut up.” Hell is being told that all the Gospel is wrong — millennia of your brothers and sisters in the faith were wrong — that Jesus loves you just as you are and no change is required, we’ll just throw out everything that disagrees with that. Hell is being told that this nihilism and denial of any and all truth are exactly what the church is supposed to be — liberating us from outdated notions of sin and justice. Hell is finding out that no one really wants “a relationship,” no matter how much they want it blessed or accepted; rather just the ease of sex, the right to demand acceptance of their neighbors, and the ability to collect insurance. They’d also like it to be open, please, not monogamous, with a "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy and weekends free to “play around.” And don’t judge us, please. Hell is standing in the middle of the most gay-friendly city in the country — perhaps the world — and praying, please God, there must be something more than this. Or maybe hell is belonging to a church that just pats you on the head and says, “That’s OK, dear.” Hell welcomes you in from the cold by leaving all the windows and doors wide open and turning off the heat (too great a change can be a shock, you know). Hell is pretending that “we value every person and support a widely diverse community” means anything other than "we have no more concern for your soul than the local Denny's." By the grace of God, I escaped this hell. In this season of misguided "pride," my prayer is that those still suffering as I did find their way out as well.

The sandy beaches of Normandy, France, were a hellscape 80 years ago today. The ocean had literally turned red from the blood of Allied soldiers being torn to pieces by defenders of the Wehrmacht. But American soldiers clawed their way forward, paying for every inch of ground. On D-Day, these young men assaulted Adolf Hitler’s Atlantic Wall with devotion to their country and no concern for themselves. Thousands gave their lives to liberate Western Europe from one of the greatest evils the world has ever seen, and the bodies of those brave men still rest in France today. By 2021, four times as many veterans of the post-9/11 wars had been lost to suicide as to the wars themselves. The veterans who returned home after World War II rightly received a hero’s welcome. Beyond that immediate adulation, nearly an entire generation of American men had a common bond and unspoken friendship on which they could rely. Implicit support systems for veterans organically sprang up and complemented existing organizations such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, and new efforts like the G.I. Bill of 1944. It wasn’t easy readjusting to civilian life — some never could — but society worked to ensure as many veterans as possible could move on from the trauma of war. The same could not be said of those who fought in Vietnam two decades later. They were greeted by hostile crowds full of misdirected anger. Our veterans were jeered at and spat upon. There was no nationwide culture of appreciation for their sacrifice nor the same institutions to support these veterans as they were reacclimating to civilian life. Drug use and suicides became widespread among Vietnam veterans as they struggled to make sense of the horrors they witnessed and reconcile why so many of their countrymen were so ungrateful. The post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan and Iraq shed new light on the phenomenon of post-traumatic stress disorder, particularly as veterans returning home from the Middle East were increasingly found to be suicidal and struggling to adjust to life stateside. But our institutions were slow to recognize the problem and even slower to act. A 2013 Department of Veteran Affairs study found that our servicemen and women were taking their own lives at a rate of 22 veterans — not per year, but every single day. In a little more than an hour, another American who sacrificed for his country was dead by his own hand. While the deaths overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq were mournful, they were but a fraction of the waves of suicides that those conflicts induced once soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines arrived back home. By 2021, four times as many veterans of the post-9/11 wars had been lost to suicide as to the wars themselves. America went from tending to her veterans to ignoring them as they slipped away into opioid addiction, isolation, and bankruptcy. This happened because the institutions, both public and private, that supported them became eroded over time. In fairness, many phenomenal private charities that grew up in recent years are working hard to reverse this trend by thoroughly taking care of as many veterans as possible. They are truly saving lives. But our public institutions leave much to be desired, especially in addressing veterans’ financial challenges, long wait times for medical treatment, and insufficient mental health support. It’s long past time that we, as a society, rectify this injustice. On the 70th anniversary of D-Day, I spoke in Sainte-Mère-Église alongside Dr. Claude Gatignol, a former French Parliament member, near the church where John Steele, portrayed in “The Longest Day,” witnessed the horrors below. As the national anthems of the Allied countries played, the crowd sang America’s "Star-Spangled Banner" with fervent belief and respect. When the French national anthem followed, the entire square erupted in a loud, unified voice. Tears of pride streamed down our cheeks as we nodded to each other, knowing this was how it should be. This powerful display of unity and pride, etched forever in my memory, exemplifies the enduring spirit and sacrifices of our forebears. In moments like these, we are reminded of the profound cost of freedom and the shared values that bind us together. This is how it should always be. As we look back 80 years on D-Day and remember those who gave the last full measure of devotion, we must honor the memory of the fallen by looking after their brothers. These are not brothers of blood, but brothers in arms — a bond that extends across time. We owe it to our veterans to provide them with all the support they need. No more excuses. Let us honor the memory of those we’ve lost by taking care of those we still have.

As Donald Trump nears this summer’s GOP convention in Milwaukee, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott is making it clear he’s eager to continue serving as…

On the Trumpification of Senator Marco Rubio (R., Fla.).

On that day in Normandy in 1984, Ronald Reagan used the right words, struck the right tone, and paid fitting tribute to the D-Day sacrifices of 80 years ago.

We’ve got to corral the department before it tramples the American Dream, hurting American workers, farmers, and business owners in the process.

The challenge of Normandy was immense. The result of D-Day was world-historic.