Independent Probe Sought in W.Va. T-shirt Controversy

LOGAN, W.Va. -- An independent investigator will look into an incident in which a Logan Middle School student was suspended after refusing to remove a National Rifle Association T-shirt he wore to school.

The Logan County Board of Education agreed to hire the outside investigator.

Jared Marcum was charged with causing a disruption at the school on April 18. His stepfather, Allen Larieris, has said the eighth-grader was waiting in line in the school cafeteria when a teacher ordered him to remove the T-shirt or turn it inside out.

Marcum's lawyer, Ben White, says school officials told him Marcum's one-day suspension was appropriate because he was being disruptive.

White says Marcum was exercising his free speech rights and his support for the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms.