Wisconsin graduation disrupted: Father arrested, actions spark debate

Despite a viral video showing the opposite, the Baraboo High School parent charged with disorderly conduct for interrupting the graduation ceremony falsely claimed the superintendent was the one who initiated the physical contact in the disturbance. "I didn't touch him until he touched me," Matthew Eddy told Baraboo Police Officer Brandon Meyer, according to a video of their conversation recorded minutes after the incident.Video of Eddy's on-stage stunt on May 31, where he put his hands on Baraboo School District Superintendent Dr. Rainey Briggs to prevent him from shaking hands with Eddy's daughter, made headlines across the country questioning whether his actions were motivated by race.Eddy and his daughter are white. Briggs is Black. "I did not want him to be able to shake her (expletive) hand because he does not deserve it from her," Eddy tells Meyer, according to the video.Eddy does not mention Briggs' race, according to the video, which was obtained by 12 News Investigates through Wisconsin's Open Records Law."I'm not aware of any allegations of Dr. Briggs doing anything to your daughter, specifically," a district administrator who sat in on the conversation with Eddy and Meyer said in the video."No, it wasn't him specifically," Eddy replies. Rather, he reveals that he was upset over what he perceived as a slight to his daughter during a previous meeting with district officials. He did not specify the incident which led to the meeting, but said the subject of the meeting was potential expulsion."He rolled his eyes when I brought up the fact the same thing happened to her and it pissed me off," Eddy recalled in the video, referring to Briggs. "She was expelled for doing the same thing that was done to her, and nothing was done to the previous people," he said without elaborating on the incident.The administrator and Meyer told Eddy there were better ways to handle any perceived grievance against Briggs or the district."You can't hop up on the stage right in front of graduation," Meyer said. "Like, you obviously know what was going to happen.""Oh yeah, for sure," Eddy replied."We can't do what we did today because, think about how your daughter feels right now, man," Meyer added. On June 6, Sauk County prosecutors charged Eddy with a single count of disorderly conduct."Based on Matthew's explanation of events, I believe this may have been something that he had pre-planned to do," Meyer wrote in a police report."Compared to a sensational story born to increase viewership, the truth is often quite mundane," Eddy's lawyer, Jay Englund wrote in an emailed statement Tuesday, "Contrary to the story circulating through the media, the relatively ordinary evidence in this case appears to involve a father who was upset with a School Superintendent for reasons that had absolutely nothing to do with race."Briggs has also since filed a restraining order against Eddy."Matthew approached the stage quickly and put both of his hands on me to push me out of the way, stating, "You are not going to touch my (expletive) daughter," Briggs wrote in a statement, court records show. "Matthew then began to push and pry at me and I again put my hands out to keep Matthew away from me. This took place in front of 2-3 thousand people.""I hope you're remorseful," Meyer tells Eddy in the video after the incident."A little bit for her sake," Eddy replies. "I will be embarrassed about this as soon as I walk out of here."This story was updated to include the statement from Matthew Eddy's attorney.Top HeadlinesWauwatosa School Board considers closing 2 middle schools3 kids exposed to cocaine, Wisconsin couple arrested after 911 callAuthorities begin towing abandoned vehicles at Milwaukee park and rides