Police in Virginia, in the United States, said a woman was charged after saying at a school board meeting that she would show up with loaded guns if her children were required to wear masks at school.
In the post on the police department’s Facebook page, officials said that Amelia King, 42, of Luray, was accused of making an oral threat while on school property Friday afternoon.
A magistrate judge released her on $5,000 bond.
The board was debating Covid-19 mitigation measures as the wave of Omicron continues to cause significant community transmission, and was following in light of one of the executive orders of new Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin.
On January 15, his first day in office, Youngkin issued an executive order saying that parents could decide whether their children had to wear masks at school.
During the public comment section of the meeting, a response from one of the four Page County residents who spoke up became confrontational.
“My children will not come to school on Monday with a mask on,” King told the board. “He is well? This is not happening. And I will bring all weapons loaded and ready…”
King was then cut for going over the three-minute deadline, and she replied, “See you on Monday.”
In response to the comments, the Page County school superintendent and the school board chairman made a statement saying they would not take the comments lightly.
“Not only do comments like these go against everything we wish to model for our students, they go against the very nature of how we as a community should interact with one another,” reads a note from the school.
“This type of behavior is not tolerated by our students, faculty, staff, nor will it be tolerated by parents or guests in our school division.”
As a result of the comments, the school board said they would increase police presence in schools on Friday and Monday.
“Luray Police Chief Bo Cook is investigating the incident and is in contact with the region’s attorney as well as state and federal officials,” the statement said.
In an email to the Board, read aloud at the end of the meeting, King apologized and said she was “mortified.”
“I did not intend in any way to imply to say about actual firearms, but rather all the resources I can muster to ensure my children attend school without masks,” she said in the email. “I would never do such a thing; I was speaking figuratively.”
King, in the email, said he had contacted police to explain himself.
A CNN reached out to King for comment, but did not immediately receive a response. During her speech, King noted that she had previously spoken at school board meetings and that comments were not prepared.
“I like to appear polite, and when I get carried away, I get really fervent,” she said. “I’m not always able to say exactly what I want to say properly.”
A CNN also reached out to Luray Police, the city attorney and Governor Youngkin’s office for comment, but did not receive an immediate response.
The Council ultimately decided in a 4-2 vote to “make mask wearing a parent’s decision”. Masks would be required for all staff and anyone joining the school buses.
However, parents will be required to sign a “self-exclusion form” if they do not want their children to wear masks at school. The board will still require students returning from a quarantine to be masked, regardless of the parent’s choice.
This content was originally created in English.
original version
Reference: CNN Brasil
I’m James Harper, a highly experienced and accomplished news writer for World Stock Market. I have been writing in the Politics section of the website for over five years, providing readers with up-to-date and insightful information about current events in politics. My work is widely read and respected by many industry professionals as well as laymen.
