Police have charged a Virginia mother who threatened to bring in loaded guns to her children’s campus during a public school board meeting in protest of mask mandates.
Mother Who Threatened To Bring Loaded Guns To A School In Response To Mask Mandate Charged
The Luray Police Department announced that Amelia King, 42, would be charged with an oral threat on school property.
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King was captured Thursday on a video broadcast for the Page County Public Schools school board, which was considering a vote on mandating masks for students, stating, “My children will not come to school on Monday with a mask on … I will bring every single gun loaded and ready.”
The statement caused board members to react immediately. Page County school leaders announced that they planned to have a heavier police presence on campuses in the following days, as well as released a statement condemning King’s actions.
“Violence and threats are never acceptable or appropriate. This kind of behavior is not tolerated by our students, faculty, staff, nor will it be tolerated by parents or guests of our school division,” they wrote.
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Ultimately, the board voted to leave it up to parents as to whether their children would wear a mask to school. King later wrote an apology to the school board, which was read aloud at the meeting.
“I in no way meant to imply all guns loaded as in actual firearms, but rather all resources I can muster to make sure my children get to attend schools without masks,” she wrote. “Sincere apologies for my poor choice of words.”
Per the police announcement, the court released King on a $5,000 bond, which many were upset about on social media.
“Tarsoff’s law requires a specific threat of imminent violence to others in order for mental health professionals to report,” one user commented. “
“Ms. King’s threat met all those criteria, including her closing statement, ‘See you Monday.’ Her apology was only because she saw social media blow up and feared consequences. Do not allow her to get away with this. This is domestic terrorism. Our children are watching. Adults who are getting violent over masks and vaccines are the reason their own children are distressed. It’s not the masks, it’s the hysteria and violence.”
While another user commented: “1. Good: She was arrested 2. Not good: Released on $5k bond 3. Good: people [were] made aware of her terroristic threats and knowing who she is so they can keep an eye out for her. Did they confiscate her household weapons??”