Tensions remain high in Quakertown, Pa., and calls continue mounting for change following an anti-United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protest that resulted in five high school students receiving felony aggravated assault charges and a young woman being placed in a chokehold by the police chief.
At least 35 Quakertown Community High School students left school early on Feb. 20, hours after administrators initially canceled the student-led protest over safety concerns. Videos quickly circulated on social media later that day of students and local police clashing, including a viral clip of a man in a tan sweatshirt, who was later identified as Quakertown Police Chief Scott McElree, engaging with a young woman before placing her in a chokehold.
Nearly 13,000 people have signed an online petition calling for McElree’s firing as both police chief and borough manager. The petition, which was created on Feb. 20, lists three members of the Quakertown Borough Council — Jonathan Sell, Michael Johnson, and L. James Roberts — as decision-makers…