A school board meeting in Missouri descended into violence after members voted in favor of introducing a mask mandate.
According to KMBC News, several fights erupted in the parking lot of Pleasant Hill High School, in Cass County, after the Pleasant Hill Board of Education voted unanimously in favor of making masks a requirement in its educational settings.
Reporter Brian Johnson said “people were actually throwing fists and hitting each other” during the ensuing chaos, which only dissipated once local sheriff’s deputies arrived on the scene.
Several officers were reportedly called out to the school to deal with the disturbance, while at least one man was filmed being led away in handcuffs.
The decision to introduce a mask mandate was reportedly prompted by a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases being reported across the district.
KMBC says that seven percent of the district’s population is currently in quarantine due to COVID-19, including 180 staff and students.
News of the board’s final decision was met with anger by those opposed to masks in schools, many of whom reportedly began chanting in protest at the move.
There is currently no mask mandate for schools in Cass County and no social distancing rules in place in classrooms. School districts have the power to vote in such measures.
Newsweek has reached out to the Pleasant Hill Sheriff’s Office and Pleasant Hill Board of Education for comment.
The use of masks to help curb the spread of COVID-19 remains a contentious topic in Missouri.
Rae’s Cafe was ordered to immediately shut down on September 3 by the Jackson County health department, following complaints that staff were not complying with county mask mandates which dictate everyone must wear masks indoors at public places, regardless of their vaccination status.
Instead, the owner has come up with a plan to keep the venue open by adding a sign explaining that his business now operates as a “private club” and is therefore exempt from the rules.
Earlier in September, Missouri’s attorney general also said that minors could ignore mandates issued in Kansas City and Jackson County requiring masks be worn in indoor public settings.
Attorney General Eric Schmitt said that anyone under the age of 18 should be exempt in a lawsuit designed to stop the mandates.
This resistance comes despite several healthcare facilities across Missouri reporting that a number of children are being admitted with COVID-19 symptoms so severe they are being treated in intensive care.
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