A wild brawl recently erupted at a kindergarten graduation ceremony at Queen of Apostles School in Toledo, Ohio — and it was allegedly over seating.
WTVG-TV reported that new video of last Thursday’s dust-up is raising more questions after the arrest of one parent who told the station she’s being treated unfairly.
‘Once I was taken to the ground, it was probably four or five other guys that were on top of me, trampling me, punching me, kicking me in the head.’
Jessica Anderson was charged with felonious assault, but she told WTVG she wasn’t the aggressor and wants police to review all videos of the fight — and wants charges against her dropped.
Witnesses told the station that attendees got angry over seating. Cellphone video shows multiple punches thrown, and WTVG reported that an individual appearing to be Anderson grabbed a woman by the hair.
But Anderson emphasized to the station that the clip doesn’t tell the full story.
“I removed her from the pile, and her arm fell into a chair,” Anderson recounted to WTVG. “Then we were surrounded by people, and she was hitting me. I didn’t know what was happening, so I started swinging back.”
She also told the station, “I wasn’t the aggressor; it wasn’t my face that should have been blasted everywhere. I take accountability that I was involved. A lot of people were involved, but me being the only person charged was not fair. It wasn’t.”
Anderson is charged with felonious assault, WTVG reported, adding that a judge put her on house arrest.
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WTVG also said cellphone video it obtained appears to show parent Craig Mays involved in the fight over seating.
Anderson told the station that after a disagreement over the chairs, Mays rushed toward one of her family members while she called 911.
“Craig Mays snatched Katie, and then the nephews got involved,” Anderson told WTVG. “He charged over there.”
The station said it spoke with Mays, and he denies that’s how things went down.
“Her whole family in the first two rows just stand up, five guys, five girls. They just all stand up. As I’m arguing with Jessica, I literally don’t remember anything. I just know I was sucker punched. Once I was taken to the ground, it was probably four or five other guys that were on top of me, trampling me, punching me, kicking me in the head,” Mays told WTVG.
Cellphone video allegedly recorded just after the initial brawl appears to show Mays climbing back to his feet, walking away, taking off his shirt, and putting up his fists while confronting and squaring up with a man dressed in a black sweatshirt, the station said.
Toledo police continue to investigate the fight, WTVG said, adding that the school has yet to announce a rescheduled graduation ceremony date.
A spokesperson for Central City Ministries, which operates the school, told WTVG-TV in an earlier story that no students were in the room during the brawl.
Gabriel Jakubisin, head of school for Central City Ministries, told the station that he’s proud of how staff members handled the situation. Staff members called 911 and went into lockdown, WTVG reported.
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