The prestigious Bronx prep school that counts Attorney General William Barr among its graduates is facing pressure to remove his name from its list of distinguished alumni.
Mr. Barr graduated from Horace Mann School in 1967, but two members of the class of 2020 say the school should revoke the Distinguished Alumni award he won in 2011. The students say Mr. Barr should no longer be honored because of his role last month in ordering law enforcement to forcefully remove peaceful protesters from a D.C. park for President Trump’s photo-op.
“Barr directly ordered the violent removal of protesters for the president’s political gain and this was a callous and despicable act demonstrating a clear disregard for our democratic values of free speech and racial justice,” wrote Kiara Royer and Jessica Rosberger, in an online petition posted at change.org
“In addition, Barr violated our school’s Core Values of Mutual Respect and Mature Behavior as well as our Mission Statement by infringing on the common good. William Barr should not be held as a model member of our community because of his disgraceful actions,” the petition continues.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the petition has received more than 8,000 signatures.
Mr. Barr has defended the use of force as federal agents fired tear gas and rubber bullets about 30 minutes before a curfew took effect in the aftermath of the riots over George Floyd’s death. The attorney general has said the crowd was growing increasingly unruly, hurling bricks and even concrete at officers.
In a statement, the school’s Alumni Council said it will “review in a deliberate manner the range of perspectives that are being communicated to us with the award.”
“We intend to consider the issues thoroughly and sensitively,” the statement said.
A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment.
