Grad Prayer Gets Standing Ovation After Arrest Threats

Hampton High School has backed down from its threats against students who wanted to pray in the name of Jesus at their graduation ceremony. In fact, the class president gave a prayer before a packed-to-capacity crowd that concluded with a standing ovation.

Prior to the graduation ceremonies, Hampton High’s principal threatened to have praying students put behind bars, according to the Liberty Counsel. Liberty intervened on behalf of the high school seniors and two other schools in the same district by sending a letter to the school board demanding that it protect the students’ free speech rights.

“We are pleased that the students were able to pray during graduation,” says Mathew Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel and Dean of Liberty University School of Law. “It is shocking that the principal threatened students with arrest if they prayed. The school board did the right thing in overriding the principal and honoring the free speech rights of students.”