A Florida student is facing misdemeanor charges after a confrontation with a teacher that began with his refusal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance and escalated into what officials described as disruptive behavior. The student, a sixth-grader at Lawton Chiles Middle Academy in Lakeland, Florida, east of Tampa, refused to stand for the pledge, telling the teacher that he thinks the flag and the national anthem are "racist" against black people, according to an affidavit.