NRA Shirt: Teen’s Charges Dropped, Civil Suit Planned

The debacle over an NRA shirt and a teen’s charges over the ensuing debate with his school won’t have permanent consequences for the boy — other than a Google record of the brouhaha for years to come.

The NRA shirt caused the teen some larger than average hassle when his refusal to remove the top or turn it inside out escalated to charges being brought against him for obstruction. Conflicting reports suggested he was either sanctioned for talking too much or refusing to talk — but the windup was that Jared Marcum, 14, faced a year in jail.

Mom Tanya and dad Allen Lardieri expressed relief that Marcum, 14, wouldn’t be prosecuted for the NRA shirt drama, but they also say they wished that it was over more quickly:

“It should have come sooner but it’s done and we don’t have to have that concern anymore about him having a criminal record … I’m just glad that it’s over. His mother is glad it’s over.”

Lawyer Ben White said that the NRA shirt controversy put the teen in a difficult spot, and Marcum did the best he could when confronted with the situation:

“We at this point believe that Jared acted as mature as a 14-year-old child can act with the pressure that was put on him.”

Monday, Marcum and his family were called to court over a prosecution request for a gag order, to prevent Jared and his parents to speaking to press over the NRA shirt controversy.

White said:

“We were here because the prosecution filed a motion for a gag order … My opinion is because, seemingly, they want to take it out of the court of public opinion.”

While the NRA shirt controversy has been settled as far as criminal charges go, Marcum’s father and lawyer say they plan to move ahead with a civil lawsuit against the Logan County School District.