Students say Smithsonian staff kicked them out for wearing pro-life beanies

This past weekend was the 50th annual March for Life, and people flocked to the nation’s capital from all over the country to show their support for the country’s most vulnerable human lives. Often, pro-life student groups from high schools and colleges attend, and while they’re there, do some sightseeing. But this year, that led to an alleged account of discrimination.

One woman wrote on Twitter that her daughter was among a group those who traveled to Washington, D.C., for the march; while there, her group decided to stop by the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. The Smithsonian Institution is comprised of multiples museums and research centers, most of which are located within Washington, D.C., and admit people without charge. They received over $1 billion from the federal government in 2022.

Yet this group of students was allegedly kicked out of the museum for wearing pro-life beanies.

“My daughter just called from DC,” she wrote. “[A] dozen kids from Greenville just got kicked out of the Air [and] Space Museum for wearing Pro Life hats. They were told to remove their hats or leave. Daughter told man they had to wear to find each other in crowd. KICKED OUT for refusing to remove!”

America First

@KihneSheila

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My daughter just called from DC a dozen kids from Greenville just got kicked out of the Air & Space Museum for wearing Pro Life hats.They were told to remove their hats or leave. Daughter told man they had to wear to find each other in crowd. KICKED OUT for refusing to remove!

10:06 PM · Jan 20, 2023

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She followed up by saying two other adults could verify her claim, and added that she would be filing a complaint soon. Unfortunately, the alleged incident happened quickly, so no one was able to get a video. “They didn’t get the phone out soon enough – said the entire thing happened in under a minute,” she wrote in a follow-up tweet. “But a lot of students witnessed the intimidation.”

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@KihneSheila

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Replying to @DeplorableWives

They didn’t get the phone out soon enough - said the entire thing happened in under a minute. But a lot of students witnessed the intimidation.

1:06 AM · Jan 21, 2023

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The official Twitter account for the museum soon responded as well, asking for her to reach out with more details.

National Air and Space Museum

@airandspace

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Replying to @airandspace

Could you please DM us with any additional details, including the approximate time this took place, and contact information so that our team can follow up with you directly? (2/2)

8:44 PM · Jan 21, 2023

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“Thank you for bringing this to our attention. The Museum takes complaints like this seriously. What you have described is not in keeping with our policy and we are following up with our security on this situation,” they wrote. “Could you please DM us with any additional details, including the approximate time this took place, and contact information so that our team can follow up with you directly?”

The students were said to be visiting from Our Lady of the Rosary in Greenville, South Carolina.

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