The Daily Populous Sunday February 22nd, 2026 day edition
Authored by lakemchenryscanner.com and submitted by gur40goku

No criminal charges were filed, but the student who punched another student for holding a pro-ICE sign at Lake Zurich High School last week received a two-day suspension and is back in class.

The controversial and viral incident occurred around 1:45 p.m. on February 12 inside Lake Zurich High School at the main entrance.

Many students were beginning a walkout-style protest against federal immigration enforcement, specifically U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Danny Spud, an 18-year-old senior, told Lake & McHenry County Scanner that he decided to counter-protest in favor of ICE and made a sign that said “I LOVE ICE.”

“I thought to myself, how can so many people be against law enforcement and officials trying to make our country better and safer?” Spud said, citing increased assaults against federal immigration enforcement.

Spud, who was recording on his Ray-Ban Meta smartglasses, walked down the hallway by the main entrance while stating his support for ICE and law enforcement.

“We support ICE and law enforcement,” Spud’s video shows him saying. “I support ICE.”

One student walking past tells Spud, “That’s crazy bro.”

“I don’t know what’s crazy about this,” Spud responds as the student walks away.

Another student then walks up to Spud and tells him, “Yeah I’m going to punch you in the face.”

“You’re going to punch me?” Spud asks. “Yes,” the other student responds.

“Then you’re going to get in trouble for that,” Spud says.

The student says, “okay” and immediately punches Spud, the video shows.

A security guard, who was standing just feet away from the two, immediately intervenes and keeps back the student who punched Spud.

The security guard reports what happened on her radio, the video shows.

“I stand for my beliefs,” Spud said after the two were separated. “I’m going to peacefully stand here and support my beliefs. I support ICE and law enforcement,” Spud said.

“You can go peacefully f–k yourself!” the student who punched Spud yells.

“That’s against school code. No swearing in the school,” Spud responds.

Moments later, several school staff members and Lake Zurich police officers arrive.

Spud, who has over 60,000 followers on Instagram, posted the 47-second video to his social media profiles on Instagram, X and TikTok later that evening.

The video quickly went viral and has been viewed millions of times, with mixed reactions.

Some people praised the student who punched Spud, while others called for criminal charges and disciplinary action against the student.

Lake Zurich Police Chief Steve Husak confirmed to Lake & McHenry County Scanner that officers, who were already on school property to monitor the walkout, responded to the incident.

“The students had already been separated prior to officer’s arrival,” Husak said. “Officers learned that two students got into a physical altercation because of a sign one of them was holding.”

“School officials advised the officers that they were no longer needed, so they exited the building and monitored the rest of the students participating in the protest/walkout,” the police chief added.

Spud said that police did not speak with him after the incident, but Husak said that officers did generate a police report.

No charges were filed because Spud said he does not intend to pursue criminal charges against the student who punched him.

Spud said he was not injured and said there were no further incidents afterwards.

School officials are not releasing information about the incident, citing student confidentiality.

“Sorry, we do not discuss student matters due to confidentiality,” Jean Malek, the executive director of communications & community relations for the district, told Lake & McHenry County Scanner.

“Since the incident, there have been thousands of online users on the left celebrating the assault, racking up millions of views,” Spud said.

“I have received hundreds of death threats and I have also had my Instagram account taken down, likely from mass reporting,” Spud added. “All this for holding a sign that said ‘I LOVE ICE.'”

Since the incident, Spud’s Instagram account was briefly taken down but later restored.

His TikTok profile, which had around 45,000 followers, was banned.

On Tuesday – after the district’s four-day weekend – school officials spoke with Spud and gave him a one-day in-school suspension (ISS) for video recording in the school.

“I was surprised to be the only one in the detention/ISS room, because I saw many other students record the protest as well,” Spud said.

The school also offered Spud a “safety plan” in response to online threats he has received, but Spud said he declined the plan.

Spud said that he still receives death threats, but they have since decreased in recent days.

He added that he has received support from his peers at school following the incident.

School officials also created plans to keep Spud and the student separate.

Both students are in the same grade, and Spud said he has had classes with him in the past.

The student who punched Spud was reportedly suspended.

Multiple classmates told Spud that the student was back in class as of Thursday, meaning he was given a two-day suspension that was served on Tuesday and Wednesday because there was no school on Monday.

It is unclear if the student is facing additional discipline from the school.

Guac_in_my_rarri on February 22nd, 2026 at 06:50 UTC »

2 day suspension is the standard punishment in Illinois for violating 0 tolerance policy.

All public schools in Illinois and those who receive public funding in any way, have a 0 tolerance policy. It sucks but it's whatever. When I went to school here, the policy was known as "if hit, take your shots". 2 day suspension was standard, anything more needed a whole lot of paperwork and meetings. Parents have appealed punished and even brought lawyers to these meetings.

I had a few friends get caught in fights, despite not being apart of it and just being hit, they receive 2 days. It was eye opening how adults handled these situations. Middle school got a bit more violent after this policy fuck up.

Sea-Present-8543 on February 22nd, 2026 at 06:37 UTC »

“I stand for my beliefs,” Spud said after the two were separated. “I’m going to peacefully stand here and support my beliefs. I support ICE and law enforcement,” Spud said.

“You can go peacefully f–k yourself!” the student who punched Spud yells.

“That’s against school code. No swearing in the school,” Spud responds.

Wally-Walker on February 22nd, 2026 at 06:26 UTC »

To paraphrase Mighty Ducks 2: Two days? Well worth it.