A Warrington man disrupted a food giveaway for needy families in the Central Bucks School District, officials said Tuesday, accusing staff there of “feeding all of these illegals.”
Nolan Hollenden, 32, refused requests from Joseph Brereton, the principal of Joseph Barclay Elementary School, to leave the premises during the Sept. 26 event, according to the affidavit of probable cause for his arrest. He became aggressive and disruptive, Warrington Township police said, and tried to push past Brereton into the school.
For that outburst, Hollenden was charged with criminal trespassing and disorderly conduct. There was no indication he had hired an attorney, and Hollenden did not return a request for comment.
The event that Hollenden disrupted was the school’s farmers market, held the second and fourth Thursdays of every month. Staff at the school distribute about 1,000 pounds of food to families in need, including “dry goods, fresh produce, milk, eggs” and other staples, according to the school district’s website.
In a statement Tuesday, a district spokesperson said that the biweekly events are staffed entirely by volunteers, and that added security will be in place this month out of an abundance of caution.
Investigators said the event was invitation-only and required registration, and Hollenden had not registered to attend the event, according the affidavit.
During the market, Brereton approached Hollenden and spoke with him about his presence there. Hollenden became aggressive, police said, and demanded to know why the school was “feeding all of these illegals.”
When Brereton told Hollenden to leave, police said, he refused, saying he had a right to be there as a taxpayer. Brereton warned Hollenden that if he didn’t leave, he would call the police, and Hollenden again refused.
Hollenden attempted to follow Brereton into the school, and the principal had to physically block him from entering, according to the affidavit.
Hollenden then began filming the market on his cell phone, trying to interact with children and their families, while repeating that the school was “feeding pallets of food to all the illegals.”
He is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing in the case on Oct. 28.
