City Keeps Getting Bomb Threats In Response To School's Pronoun Probe

KIEL, WI — Schools, stores and roads in Kiel were threatened Wednesday in the sixth and latest of an escalating series of menacing messages demanding the local school district stop a Title IX investigation into three students accused of using the wrong pronouns to refer to a peer.

The most recent threat said that if the district did not drop its investigation by Friday, schools, roads, utlity stations, city buildings, the police department, stores and the wastewater treatment plant would be targeted, according to a police news release.

“The City of Kiel Emergency Management Team is working with local, state, and federal authorities on this matter,” the news release said. “We are meeting and planning for a response to any and all threats.”

Kiel has received numerous bomb threats since May 23, including one Tuesday that targeted schools, city hall and the public library, according to police. The threats typically reference the Title IX investigation and are sent to law enforcement, members of the media, school staff and others. They have resulted in buildings being evacuated and searched, classes being canceled and students learning remotely.

Sunday’s graduation has been postponed in Kiel, the Memorial Day parade was canceled and classes will remain virtual until the end of the year, WBAY reported.

The investigation cited in the threats involves three eighth-grade boys who were named in a Title IX sexual harassment complaint, which alleges they used incorrect pronouns in reference to a fellow student whose proferred pronouns are “they” and “them.” The boys’ attorneys argue the complaint violates their First Amendment rights.

“We live in a society where we resolve our differences by public debate and the rule of law,” the Wisonsin Institute for Law & Liberty, which is representing the boys, said in a prepared statement. "We do not resolve them by violence or threats of violence."

The institute said that while it condemned whoever sent the threats, it would not stand down and did not expect the school district to be intimidated.

The district has previously said it does not comment on student matters, but Superintendent Brad Ebert told WEAU 13 NEWS in a statement last month that it prohibited bullying and harassment in accordance with Title IX.

The school system announced May 20 it was rescheduling a Board of Education meeting, “in light of recent attention brought to the school district and the volatility of the situation.”

In addition to the bomb threats, a 34-year-old man from Oceanside, California, was taken into custody by the FBI in connection with threats to kill a Kiel school district staffer, police said Tuesday, adding the incident was unrelated to the bomb threats.

“We are also conducting additional investigative work related to other threats received by staff members of the school district,” police said.