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https://www.kut.org/crime-justice/2026-02-03/ice-protest-fight-texas-johnson-high-school-hays-cisd-buda-tx
Buda police officers have arrested a 45-year-old man following a fight with student protesters near Johnson High School on Monday.
Chad Michael Watts, who lives in Kyle, was charged Tuesday afternoon with two counts of assault causing bodily injury.
The incident was captured in a now viral video.
A man and a student protester are seen getting into a verbal argument that quickly turns physical and results in the man throwing the girl to the ground and striking her repeatedly until other students intervene and pull him away. Video posted to social media shows he then returned to his truck.
Watts was later brought in for questioning by Buda Police. "After further thorough investigation, it was determined that Watts was the primary aggressor in the physical altercation," the department said in a statement.
The student, a sophomore, was checked by Emergency Medical Services and chose not to be taken to the hospital.
The protest was one of several walkouts that happened Monday in Hays County. Students from Hays High, Johnson High, Lehman High, Barton Middle and Live Oak Academy High schools made up some of the hundreds of students who gathered to protest the actions of federal immigration officers.
Students gathered at all four corners of the intersection of FM 1626 and RM 967 during the Johnson High demonstration, holding signs and cheering. Around 200 students walked out of the school and participated in the protest.
Buda Police, alongside county constables and sheriff's deputies, all had a presence at the protest when it started, temporarily blocking a lane of traffic on FM 1626 southbound to separate the high school protesters from the road. The protest lasted several hours and, over that time, several of the police units left to respond to other calls.
Around 3 p.m., Buda Police responded to reports of an assault on one of the students by a driver.
Buda police officers have arrested a 45-year-old man following a fight with student protesters near Johnson High School on Monday.
Chad Michael Watts, who lives in Kyle, was charged Tuesday afternoon with two counts of assault causing bodily injury.
The incident was captured in a now viral video.
A man and a student protester are seen getting into a verbal argument that quickly turns physical and results in the man throwing the girl to the ground and striking her repeatedly until other students intervene and pull him away. Video posted to social media shows he then returned to his truck.
Watts was later brought in for questioning by Buda Police. "After further thorough investigation, it was determined that Watts was the primary aggressor in the physical altercation," the department said in a statement.
The student, a sophomore, was checked by Emergency Medical Services and chose not to be taken to the hospital.
The protest was one of several walkouts that happened Monday in Hays County. Students from Hays High, Johnson High, Lehman High, Barton Middle and Live Oak Academy High schools made up some of the hundreds of students who gathered to protest the actions of federal immigration officers.
Students gathered at all four corners of the intersection of FM 1626 and RM 967 during the Johnson High demonstration, holding signs and cheering. Around 200 students walked out of the school and participated in the protest.
Buda Police, alongside county constables and sheriff's deputies, all had a presence at the protest when it started, temporarily blocking a lane of traffic on FM 1626 southbound to separate the high school protesters from the road. The protest lasted several hours and, over that time, several of the police units left to respond to other calls.
Around 3 p.m., Buda Police responded to reports of an assault on one of the students by a driver.
