Texas Gov. Greg Abbott fired back at anti-immigration enforcement student protesters on Tuesday, claiming they should be arrested if school walkouts turn violent.
Abbott shared a video of law enforcement arresting one of two students charged after a school walkout demonstration Monday in Kyle, Texas.
“It’s about time students like this were arrested. Harming someone is a crime—even for students,” Abbott wrote in the post. “Disruptive walkouts allowed by schools lead to just this kind of chaos.”
Roughly 500 students participated in anti-ICE walkouts from five different schools within the Hays Consolidated Independent School District on Monday, walking to the downtown area, according to a statement from the Kyle Police Department.
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Authorities said officers were present to monitor traffic and pedestrian safety.
During the demonstration, a student was caught with alcohol, leading to two arrests.
Police said one of the students is charged with assault on a public servant, resisting arrest, interfering with public duties, and consumption and possession of alcohol by a minor.
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The other student is charged with resisting arrest and interfering with public duties.
Additional charges may be forthcoming, officials said.
“We are aware of concerns that these arrests were related to the walkout activity; however, we would like to clarify that they are unrelated,” the department wrote in the statement.
Abbott doubled down in his post, claiming that schools and staff who allow criminal behavior “should be treated as co-conspirators and should not be immune.”
He added his office is also looking into stripping the funding of schools that “abandon their duty to teach our kids the curriculum required by law.”
It is unclear if the warning refers to schools hosting anti-ICE walkouts.
Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The protests come after the fatal shootings of Minneapolis residents Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents last month.
The shootings spurred nationwide protests, with state and local leaders calling for immigration authorities to end operations in their jurisdictions.
The First Amendment does not consider walkouts protected speech, and students can be disciplined for unexcused absences or disrupting school functions, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
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