http://news.yahoo.com/w-va-teen-arrested-almost-012034855.html;_ylt=An3VPegFHqp4V2ADfDSSxDZtzwcF;_ylu=X3oDMTNvODdjazEwBG1pdAMEcGtnA2VlYWEzZjcxLTBjMTMtMzg1OS04MDExLTMxZjk5MmY1YmQ5MQRwb3MDMTYEc2VjA2xuX0NyaW1lc2FuZFRyaWFsc19nYWwEdmVyAzE2MzMzYjMzLWFiYjYtMTFlMi1iYWZkLTAyMjM4YWIzZWVjNg--;_ylg=X3oDMTBhYWM1a2sxBGxhbmcDZW4tVVM-;_ylv=3
A West Virginia teen arrested and accused of nearly inciting a riot after a confrontation with a teacher over his National Rifle Association t-shirt has inspired dozens of students across his county to wear similar apparel in solidarity.
Jared Marcum, 14, had a confrontation Thursday with a Logan Middle School teacher over his NRA t-shirt, which bears the organization's logo, along with an image of a hunting rifle and the phrase, "Protect your right."
Marcum's lawyer, Ben White, said that when the teen was told to remove the shirt or turn it inside out, he attempted to engage the teacher in a debate.
White said that Marcum had been wearing the shirt without causing any problems from homeroom at the beginning of the school day through fifth period, and was confronted by one of the school's teachers while getting his lunch. When Jared refused to remove or reverse the shirt, the teacher began to raise his voice, and it caught the attention of students eating their lunch, White said.
Marcum was eventually arrested and taken away by police after refusing to remove the shirt. White said that when police told the teen they were going to arrest him, he stuck his hands out and said, "Fine."
Logan City Police Chief E.K. Harper told ABCNews.com that Marcum was not arrested for wearing a t-shirt, but for "disrupting the school process."
Marcum was not put in jail, Harper said, and was released to his mother after less than 30 minutes at the police station -- normal procedure for a juvenile arrest.
White said that charges being filed against Marcum are pending the prosecutor's office's review of the evidence. But he insisted that it was the teacher who caused the issue by confronting the teen, and that video gathered from the school will prove it.
On top of his arrest and trip to the police station, Marcum was suspended from school for one day. This morning, he returned to school wearing the same t-shirt, White said.
White accompanied Marcum and his stepfather to a meeting at the school, where the principal, according to White, said that she "hates that it happened" to Marcum.