Attempt To Hand Out Climate Change Materials Lands 3 Men In Jail

TAMPA, FL — Police arrested three people for attempting to hand out climate change materials at Freedom High School Wednesday.

According to Tampa police, at 3:57 p.m., the three men came onto school grounds at 17410 Commerce Park Blvd. and tried to distribute information about global warming to high school students as they were being dismissed on the second day of the school year.

When the men, who didn't have permission to be on the high school campus, were confronted by school administrators and the school resource officer, they staged a sit-in in the dismissal line, preventing parents from picking up their children.

Police said numerous attempts were made to get the men to move to a sidewalk where they could continue their protest. When the men refused, they were taken into custody and charged with disrupting a school function and trespassing on school grounds.

Police arrested Donald J. Zepeda, 32, of Holt, Michigan; Nicholas Vasquez, 23, of 880 26th St., Tampa and Jonathan Tijerina, 26, of Yreka, California.

Bail was set at $500 for each man. All three remain in jail at this time.