Marissa Barnwell, a River Bluff High School student, her parents and their lawyer, Tyler Bailey, hold a news conference in Columbia, S.C., on Thursday, March 9, 2023, regarding a lawsuit filed against Lexington School District One. Marissa said she was walking quietly to class and decided not to stop for the pledge or a moment of silence that followed. A teacher yelled at her, confronted her and pushed her against a wall. (Alexa Jurado/The State via AP)

A South Carolina honor roll student says that she was assaulted by a teacher and pushed up against a wall because she didn’t recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

Marissa Barnwell, 15, says that River Bluff High School teacher Nicole Livingston assaulted her in late November in an apparent attempt to stop the student from walking in the hallway as the Pledge of Allegiance was recited over the school loudspeakers.

Although Barnwell was walking “silently in a non-disruptive manner to her class” during the Pledge of Allegiance, teacher Nicole Livingston allegedly accosted her by “yelling and demanding that M.B. stop walking and physically assaulting her by pushing M.B., on the wall and forcefully touching M.B., in an unwanted way without her consent so that she would stop walking in recognition of the Pledge of Allegiance and Moment of Silence that was announced at the conclusion of the Pledge,” according to a lawsuit filed in February.

Barnwell has publicly acknowledged that she is the student in the lawsuit, although the complaint refers to her by her initials only, as she is a minor.

According to the complaint, Livingston then took Barnwell to school principal Jacob Smith’s office.

“M.B. was extremely upset and emotionally disturbed about being taken to the principal’s office as she believed she was being punished for having done something wrong,” the complaint says.

Smith allegedly told Barnwell that he would review surveillance footage from the incident and sent her back to class. According to the lawsuit, the principal “never informed M.B., that she was exempt from participating in the Pledge of Allegiance and should not be penalized for failing to participate.”

The complaint notes that River Bluff High School policy mandates that “all students say the Pledge of Allegiance at a time approximately around 8:40 a.m.,” in accordance with state law — but that state law also says that anyone who doesn’t want to participate is “exempt from participation and may not be penalized for failing to participate.”

The lawsuit also notes that Supreme Court rulings have “made it clear” that the First Amendment “forbids compelling saluting or pledging allegiance to the flag,” although not all teachers appear to understand this. South Carolina law allows a person who doesn’t want to participate in the Pledge of Allegiance to leave the classroom, remain in their seat, or “express his nonparticipation in any form which does not materially infringe upon the rights of other persons or disrupt school activities.”

Barnwell’s parents, Fynale and Shavell Barnwell, have sued Livingston, Smith, the Lexington School District One, and the district superintendent on their daughter’s behalf. They allege negligence, reckless infliction of emotional distress, violations of Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection guarantees, and First Amendment Free Speech violations.

At a press conference on Thursday, Barnwell said that prior to the alleged altercation, she had never met Livingston.

“I had never seen this lady a day in my life, so when she approached me so angry and upset, I had not known how to react to her,” Barnwell said. “She approached me, she grabbed me, she pushed me up against the wall. I was just not prepared for that.”

Barnwell said that Smith, the principal, appeared to take the teacher’s side.

“He’s just like, ‘Shouldn’t you be proud of your country?'” Barnwell recalled.

The student said that it’s “emotionally damaging and mentally damaging” to have to see Livingston in the hallways at school and that she believes that “people at my school do not make me feel like I belong, make me feel like I’m safe.”

Barnwell said that she hasn’t recited the Pledge of Allegiance in years.

“I haven’t said any of those things since the third grade, once I realized that in those pledges you say ‘liberty and justice for all,'” Barnwell said at the press conference. “Is America really liberty and justice for all? After that I just realized I’m just not going to say this Pledge of Allegiance anymore.”

Barnwell noted that Livingston is a “special needs instructor” at the school, which is confirmed on the school’s website.

“The fact that she had the will to do this to me, I cannot imagine what she is doing to the special needs students who can’t even speak up for themselves,” Barnwell said.

Barnwell’s parents are seeking an undetermined amount of compensatory and punitive damages.

The South Carolina Department of Education filed a motion Friday to be dismissed from the case, arguing that the complaint didn’t sufficiently explain why the department is involved.

“[T]he Complaint does not affirmatively allege that any of the three named individual Defendants were employed by this Defendant, nor acting on behalf of the Department,” the motion to dismiss says (citations omitted). “Nor does the Complaint name any individuals who were actually acting as employees or agents of the Department for which the Department [is liable], nor any factual basis explaining why the Department is even a named Defendant in this suit.”

“[N]or are there any fact-based allegations made against the Defendant Department individually,” the complaint adds.

Barnwell’s lawyer told Law&Crime that he expects to prevail in court.

“I’m not surprised that the S.C. Dept. of Education is seeking to avoid accountability,” attorney Tyler Bailey said in an email. “All of the powers that be have attempted to ignore Marissa’s constitutional rights since the day her rights were violated. We will address their motion to dismiss in a filing later this month and we’re confident that the court will rule on the side of justice in Marissa’s favor.”

A representative for the Lexington School District One told Law&Crime that the attorney representing the district is working on a response to the lawsuit at this time. Citing the “ongoing legal matter,” the school declined to comment further. It is unclear if Livingston and Smith have retained attorneys.

You can read the lawsuit here.

BARNWELL, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - The family of Regina Arroyo is still searching for answers weeks after her body was found in the North Fork Edisto River in Lexington County.

Arroyo went missing on Dec. 1 and her body was found on Dec. 3.

She was an advocate for animal welfare and ran a transportation service that rescued animals from kill shelters.

“She really had the biggest heart,” said Mindy Chrysler, Regina’s daughter. “‘I love you always. I’ll see you later.’ That was always her thing.”

Regina had five children. Chrysler said Regina would always leave notes for them every time she would visit.

MORE | Missing mom’s loved ones hope she won’t be ‘another statistic’

“Never thought that there would be this day where I wasn’t going to see her again,” said Chrysler.

The last time Chrysler texted her mom was on Thanksgiving. Around that time, Regina was doing a pet transportation. Shortly after, her family reported her missing.

“After the first day and there was still no sign of her, I knew that something horrible had happened and she wasn’t going to be coming home,” said Chrysler.

Chrysler’s instincts were right. At the beginning of December, authorities showed up at her doorstep to let her know her mom was dead.

Oops! Something went wrong.

An unexpected error occurred. Please see our support page (0: error)

“I don’t even remember what my first thought was,” said Chrysler. “I was crying and then I heard my daughter crying. I couldn’t process anything really.”

The fact that she’ll never hear her mom’s voice or have another phone call with her is what hurts the most.

“I just miss her saying that it’s gonna be ok because right now I don’t know if it’s gonna be ok,” said Chrysler.

The one thing that keeps her going is those small reminders from her mom.

“That’s always been her thing. You just can’t give up, you got to keep trying and it’s going to work,” said Chrysler.

Copyright 2023 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.

Daily Covid-19 admissions in the Barnwell County area

About the data

Data is from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hospitalization data is a daily average of Covid-19 patients in hospital service areas that intersect with Barnwell County, an area which may be larger than Barnwell County itself.

The number of daily hospital admissions shows how many patients tested positive for Covid in hospitals and is one of the most reliably reported indicators of Covid’s impact on a community.

Total population

Ages 65 and up

Total population

Ages 65 and up

An updated vaccine is recommended for adults and most children. Statewide, 7% of vaccinations did not specify a home county.

Nearby hospitals

Share of I.C.U. beds occupied

About this data Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Notes: The hospitals map shows the average I.C.U. occupancy at nearby hospitals in the most recent week with data reported. The data is self-reported to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services by individual hospitals. It excludes counts from hospitals operated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Indian Health Service. Numbers for hospitalized patients are based on inpatient beds and include I.C.U. beds. Hospitalized Covid-19 patients include both confirmed and suspected Covid-19 patients. The C.D.C. stopped reporting data on cases in May 2023.

How trends have changed in Barnwell County

About this data Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Notes: Weekly county death data prior to Jan. 2021 was not reported by the C.D.C. and is sourced from reporting by The New York Times. Hospitalization data is a weekly average of Covid-19 patients in hospital service areas that intersect with Barnwell County. Hospitalization numbers early in the pandemic are undercounts due to incomplete reporting by hospitals to the federal government.

Historical trends in Barnwell County

The data in these charts has been archived and they are no longer being updated.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data in these charts has been archived and they are no longer being updated. Weekly county case data prior to Jan. 2021 was not reported by the C.D.C. and is sourced from reporting by The New York Times. The C.D.C. stopped reporting data on cases in May 2023. Test positivity data is based only on test results reported to the federal government and is a seven-day average.

A Midlands woman narrowly missed out on winning a $750 million grand prize in a recent Powerball drawing, but her ticket was good enough for her to walk away with a six-figure jackpot, South Carolina Education Lottery officials said.

Because the woman was one number shy of exactly matching the July 12 Powerball drawing, she had to settle for a $150,000 consolation prize, lottery officials said in a news release.

The woman made it clear her feelings weren’t hurt.

“I’m elated,” she said in the release.

She bought her winning ticket at the OM Jay 2002 LLC gas station/convenience store at 10193 US Hwy. 78 in the Elko section of Barnwell County.

The winner will be allowed to retain some privacy, as South Carolina is one of 11 states — along with Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Texas and Virginia — that allow lottery winners to remain anonymous.

The woman said her newfound windfall won’t be used on any flashy impulse buys, but instead will be put aside for retirement, according to the release.

Her ticket matched four of the five white numbers and the red Powerball number. Because the woman paid an additional dollar for the Power Play option when she purchased the ticket, her prize was tripled from $50,000 to $150,000 when that number was a 3, according to the release.

The winning numbers from the July 12 drawing were 23, 35, 45, 66, 67 and Powerball: 20.

The convenience store received a commission of $1,500 for selling the claimed winning ticket, lottery officials said.

The next Powerball drawing will be held on Monday night, when a $145 million grand prize will be on the line.

The odds of winning the Powerball jackpot are 1-in-293 million.

BARNWELL COUNTY, S.C. (WJBF) — It’s been a month since Michael Still has vanished from his Barnwell County home. “We look in the woods all the time. You know, just looking, asking what happened? How, where?,” his sister, Melissa Still Chavis, said.

The last time Melissa saw Michael was on February 3, when he left her Williston home for his apartment at Colony West in Barnwell. “We know he left that Tuesday on the sixth sometime in the night because the house was lit up,” she recalled. “And these doors you have to lock from the outside with a key. So he didn’t lock that back door when he left. So he had to left in a hurry.”

Despite personal items found in his apartment, his car still in the parking lot, and extensive search efforts, there’s uncertainty about his well-being. “Did he have any shoes on? Because the shoes that he normally wears was in the room. His glasses are there, his watch is there. He never went anywhere without those two things,” she said.

The apartments appear to have no cameras, adding to the case’s complexity. “If they had cameras, it would definitely solve, saw a lot of issues that we are, or questions that we have. They, I heard that they had cameras, but they weren’t working. It’s time to get cameras.”

The Barnwell County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies are involved in the investigation. “They’ve had DNR on four-wheelers. They’ve had the cadaver dogs. They’ve had, somebody fly a drone over it,” Chavis recalled.

BCSO explained in a statement that there was no concrete evidence connecting Still’s disappearance to the later discovery of 17-year-old Maylashia Hogg. “People have asked to do a community search and I would love to do that, but I just need to know where to start,” she said.

There’s a more than $3,700 reward from the family, and $300 from the sheriff’s office for information leading to his discovery. The family seeks answers, justice, and closure.

“He deserves to be found. And then I’ll work on why and the answers to why somebody did this. But I just wanna put him to rest,” she added.