'Angry Mobs,' Threats Prompt School Boards To Seek FBI Assistance

ACROSS AMERICA — A national association representing school boards across the country has asked President Joe Biden for help combatting the "growing number of threats of violence and acts of intimidation" against U.S. educators and students.

The National School Board Association, which represents elected school board officials who oversee more than 14,000 school districts serving 50 million U.S. public school students, sent the letter to Biden on Wednesday.

The request comes as school boards across the nation face growing hostility from parents and community members over COVID-19 mitigation measures such as mask mandates.

In the letter sent to Biden, the National School Board Association claimed the ongoing need to assess pandemic safety in schools has led to attacks against school board members and educators, physical threats, and intimidation by "angry mobs" attending board meetings.

The letter also cites ongoing propaganda regarding critical race theory as a reason behind the uptick in threats and violence.

In some states, the anger is reaching beyond threats and intimidation.

In Arizona, the father of an elementary school student was arrested after he and two other men brought zip ties to the building, threatening to make a “citizen’s arrest” of the school principal. The reason: a COVID-19 quarantine, according to The Associated Press.

In Ohio, a letter mailed to an Ohio school board member said, “We are coming after you,” according to the school board association. “You are forcing them to wear masks — for no reason in this world other than control. And for that you will pay dearly.”

It went on, calling the school board member “a filthy traitor.”

“These threats and acts of violence are affecting our nation’s democracy at the very foundational levels, causing school board members — many who are not paid — to resign immediately and/or discontinue their service after their respective terms,” the association wrote. “Further, this increasing violence is a clear and present danger to civic participation, in which other citizens who have been contemplating service as either an elected or appointed school board member have reconsidered their decision."

In the letter, the association requests federal officials investigate and intercept current threats against U.S. school boards and educators. It also asks for assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Homeland Security and other agencies.

The association continues, comparing recent threats and violence against public school officials to "domestic terrorism" and "hate crimes."

The letter also documents more than 20 instances of threats, harassment and acts of intimidation in states including California, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey and Ohio.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona weighed in on the request as he left a U.S. Senate hearing Thursday. He told the AP he wants to hear more about the request for federal investigators to handle threats. He also noted his department will “listen closely” to the group's concerns.

In the meantime, “at the local level, any threats should be investigated thoroughly,” Cardona added.