Mom charged with assault for defending her daughter against bullies

A mother is facing an assault charge after
confronting a bully at her teenage daughter’s
school. Morgan Sellers, 14, has been enduring
bullying by a group of kids at her middle school
since last fall. “It’s been stressful because I never
know what name they’re going to call me each
day,” Morgan told WHO-HD. “It makes me feel bad
about myself, like I’m not good enough.”
Morgan’s mom, Alisha Morton, 31, says she
repeatedly complained about the bullying to the
principal, teachers, and superintendent of
Northview Middle School in Ankeny, Iowa. She
was assured that they would take care of the
situation. But nothing changed.
The bullying got so bad that Morgan told her
mom she wanted to die.
“For my child to come home and tell me
that she wants to die because this child is
still doing something that I’ve confronted
the school and superintendent about, that
kills me inside,” Morton said.
It was the last straw. On Jan. 11, Morton went
with her daughter to the school to face the
student who was bullying Morgan the most — an
eighth-grade boy. During the exchange, another
student, a ninth-grade girl, allegedly threatened
Morton.
“She said, ‘I’m going to beat your ass. Get
the hell out of here,"
Morton said. “I said, ‘You’re a child; you’re not
involved in this. Sit back down.’”
When the teen girl wouldn’t back off during the
confrontation, Morton put one arm out to block
her.
The mom says the student then tried to punch
her. Morgan came to her mom’s defense,
grabbing the ninth-grade girl’s hands to prevent
her from hitting Morton. “I told her when I
grabbed her hands, ‘You’re not going to hit my
mom,’” Morgan said.
The mom was charged with assault “by
admittedly shoving the student during a verbal
altercation,” the assault complaint says, according
to WHO-HD.