Law enforcement investigating incident at Buda student protest

BUDA, Texas - Law enforcement is investigating after videos surfaced online of an adult confronting Buda-area students protesting ICE operations on Monday afternoon.

The videos allegedly show the confrontation escalating into physical contact with the man pushing a girl, then a group of students swarming the man.

Video from the incident went viral on social media, sparking strong reactions and raising a lot of questions.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Hundreds of Hays CISD students leave campus to protest: district

Law enforcement investigation

What we know:

On Monday, several hundred students walked out of five Hays CISD campuses, including Hays, Live Oak Academy, Lehman and Johnson high schools and Barton Middle School. 

Walkouts also happened at Pflugerville ISD and Manor ISD on Monday and Austin ISD the previous week.

Down the road from Johnson High School in Buda, things took a turn.

The Buda Police Department says that on Monday afternoon, it learned of a walkout protest happening on RM 967 from a school resource officer.

Just before 3 p.m., Buda officers were called to the intersection of RM 967 and FM 1626 for reports of a fight.

Police say a verbal argument between a girl on the sidewalk and a man in a vehicle escalated into a physical altercation involving multiple people. Several videos of the incident were posted to the Buda Police Department's Facebook page.

One video shows the man getting out of his truck and approaching the teens before the fight breaks out.

The group falls to the grass, and then the man gets up and walks back to his truck. Videos show students throwing water bottles at him and his truck.

Hays CISD says it is aware of the video and confirmed that the man in the video is not a teacher or an employee.

What they're saying:

Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra shared in a statement that the incident is under active investigation.

"No matter one’s political views, an adult bears a clear responsibility to exercise restraint, especially in the presence of children. Violence or intimidation directed at a minor—particularly during a lawful, peaceful demonstration—has no place in a constitutional republic that depends on the rule of law rather than force," Becerra said.

Copy of statement from Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra regarding a physical altercation between an adult man and a group of students at a protest in Buda.

"I will not be silent when children exercising their constitutional rights are placed at risk. Our duty as a community is to protect the vulnerable and to uphold the foundational freedoms of speech and peaceful assembly that belong to all residents, regardless of viewpoint."

Ayaan Moledina, federal policy director for Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT), spoke with FOX 7 Austin's Jenna King about the incident.

"Students have the right to protest and display their First Amendment rights in educational environments. That's exactly what these students were doing," Moledina said.

SEAT is a student-led movement working to get young people involved in the policy-making process at all levels of government.

"For us to have to fear for our safety is not usual, and for us not to know who's on our side, for us not to know. Who's going to come out of nowhere. You know, we think that in a city like Austin, that we're safe, that people will side with us. But to see something like that happen, it shows that you will find counter protesters anywhere," he added.

Group leaders say the altercation raises concerns about safety at future walkouts.

"I think that there needs to be action taken on that and I would like to see a full investigation done on how it started and what can be done to prevent this happening in the future because like we discussed, these protests and walkouts are not going to stop anytime soon and we need to create policies and create environments where they can continue to happen safely," Moledina said.

What's next:

The incident is under active investigation by the Buda Police Department and the Hays County District Attorney's Office.

Buda police told FOX 7 Austin Tuesday that no arrests have been made so far. Police have said both the primary parties involved have been identified.

Buda mayor Lee Urbanovsky said that Buda police have gotten a statement from the man and are working with Hays CISD to collect witness statements and video evidence from students.