When John George III posted a Facebook status update promising his fellow high school students "a big surprise tomorrow," he thought it was clear that classmates should expect him to show up to school dressed like Santa Claus, given that he does so every year.
But one Crawford County High School parent who wasn't aware of John's annual tradition became alarmed by his signature — "let the games begin" — and phoned the police.
Following a brief conversation with the Georgia teen in his Roberta home, law enforcement officials concluded that there was no immediate threat and left "without further incident."
Unfortunately for John, principal Mike Campbell wasn't satisfied with the authorities' response, and instructed officers to escort the kid to his office the following morning.
John was subsequently suspended pending a school hearing scheduled for after the Christmas break. A statement released by the school called John's Facebook post "disturbing" — sentiments echoed by Superintendent John Douglas.
"If I had to do it over again, we'd do the same thing, just to be cautious," Douglas told The Macon Telegraph. He excused the action by arguing that it would be horrible if "we knew about this ahead of time, and we did nothing, and something happened."
But John's father, John George Jr., still isn't quite sure what his son did wrong.
According to George, John also has a habit of dressing up for St. Patrick's Day and giving out candy on Valentine's Day. He's a "typical teenager," who "likes to play video games, watch wrestling and jump on his trampoline."
"You can't be too careful about anything," he told the Telegraph, "but I think they should have listened to the children, and not overreacted and put someone out of school."
[screengrab via 13WMAZ]