SENATOBIA, Miss. — A North Mississippi superintendent is no longer pressing charges against family members for cheering at a high school graduation.
Some of those family members charged told WREG the damage was already done.
They were taunted and harassed at work and on the internet.
“It gave me a bad name like I’m a hoodlum or like I’m a delinquent or something,” said Henry Walker.
Walker was one of four served warrants for cheering at the graduation at Northwest Mississippi Community College last month.
Superintendent Jay Foster filed charges for disturbing the peace days after, because he was angry folks didn’t follow his rules and hold their applause until the end of the ceremony.
On Monday Foster dropped the charges.
One day before the case was set to go to court.
Foster did not say why he changed his mind and has yet to return any of WREG’s calls or email.
“The fact he waited so long. Why wait now? Why not do this last week?” said Walker.
Ursula Miller was still shaking her head too.
She also got in trouble for cheering for her daughter and claims she’s been harassed too.
“Facebooking me. Calling me unhuman. That I shouldn’t have said anything,” she said.
Miller and Walker said the worse part was what should have been a day of celebrating will forever be tarnished.
Walker said his little sister won’t let it go either.
“She is blaming this whole thing on herself, which is not right. She doesn’t deserve that at all,” he said.
Superintendent Foster told WREG last week the charges were far from ridiculous, and he’s determined to have order at graduation ceremonies.
