A dispute that began when a group of cheerleaders was punished for displaying a pro-Trump banner has now resulted in a North Carolina school canceling Friday night’s football game.

On Friday afternoon, the Stanly County Schools tweeted that the North Stanly High School game would be canceled over security concerns, but it did not elaborate.

SCS has been notified of additional information that could compromise safety measures in place for sporting events. Upon receiving information, the NSHS football game scheduled for 9/20/19 is canceled. Safety is our first concern. https://t.co/jxIBaqzNjx pic.twitter.com/pChtIO0xMX — Stanly Co. Schools (@StanlySchools) September 20, 2019

The action came after the North Carolina High School Athletic Association put North Stanly cheerleaders on probation because prior to the school’s Aug. 30 game, some cheerleaders posed with a banner that read “Trump 2020 Make America Great Again,” Fox News reported.

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The incident took place on what was being celebrated as “American Night,” and students had been encouraged to wear red white and blue. The Stanly News & Press quoted school officials as saying that the banner was not school-sponsored and that the school had a policy against political statements.

@LaraLeaTrump being from NC I thought you should know that the NC High School Athletics Association has put the entire North Stanly High School Cheerleader squad on probation for supporting Trump 2020. Attached is the controversial picture. https://t.co/xwK8C9WNSA pic.twitter.com/GWQ1CFzD49 — Mark Chamley (@MarkCChamley) September 16, 2019

Community members had planned a rally in support of the cheerleaders prior to Friday’s game and planned to display a large American flag.

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“There was no threat,” Jeremy Onitreb, who helped organize the rally, said, according to the Charlotte Observer. “Nobody’s coming up there to hurt the kids. It’s not what this was about.”

Onitreb was then asked if the rally is going to ever happen.

“You’re damn right it is,” he said.

“The next rally is going to happen out at the NCHSAA offices. Que Tucker is next, we’re coming for her job. Until she decides to resign, we’re taking this fight to her,” he said, citing the commissioner of the group that put the cheerleaders on probation.

The NCHSAA has said probation is not punishment and that it did not ban the cheerleaders from participating in future games.

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Reports in the Salisbury Post and other local media linked Onitreb and co-organizer Jay Thaxton to the Proud Boys, a conservative group that they identified as a “hate group,” citing the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Thaxton disagreed with that characterization.

“From my experience, the left will demonize any narrative that they do not agree with,” he said. “If you don’t fall in line with their creed or mantra, then their gaslight term is to call that organization racist.”

Onitreb had said before the rally that there would be security guards but did not know if there would be counter-protesters.

“I don’t expect any of that and I’m not looking for that and nobody in my group will be looking for that,” he said.

After the game was canceled, he said the decision was an effort to muzzle free speech.

“The reason they decided to cancel the game is because somebody out there wanted to shut down our free speech so bad — they wanted to shut this rally down so bad — that they were willing to call the school and threaten the school,” Onitreb said in a Facebook live video on the event page.

He said those supporting the rally will continue to show up to wave the flag at future games.

“We’re not going down like this,” he told the Charlotte Observer. “Rocky Balboa wore American flag trunks for a reason. Do you know how hard it was to knock that man out? Well, it’s going to be real hard to knock us out.”

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