During a school board meeting in Virginia, a woman claimed she would show up with loaded firearms if her children were required to wear masks.
Amelia King, 42, of Luray, was charged with making an oral threat Friday afternoon, according to a post on the department's Facebook page.
She was released on unsecured bond of $5,000 by a magistrate judge.
Covid-19 mitigation measures had been discussed in light of the Omicron wave's continued impact on the community and a new executive order signed by Governor Youngkin.
President Youngkin issued an executive order on his first day in office stating that parents had the final say on whether their children should wear masks to school.
Page County residents who spoke in public comment turned confrontational during the meeting's public comment period.
"My children will not come to school on Monday with a mask on, all right?" Amelia King, said. "That's not happening. And I will bring every single gun loaded and ready."
When King went over the three-minute time limit, she replied, "I'll see y'all on Monday."
A statement issued by the Page County school board chair and superintendent in response to the comments said they would not take them lightly.
As divisive national politics creep into local government, a number of school board meetings in the United States have become threatening and contentious.
"Not only do comments such as 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 each other," the statement read. "This kind of behavior is not tolerated from our students, faculty, staff, nor will it be tolerated by parents or guests of our school division."
The school board responded to the remarks by increasing police presence on Friday and Monday.
In an email sent at the end of the school board meeting, King apologized for the way she used words.
As they read King's email to the rest of the board, one board member said, "She wants to apologize for the way she phrased the statement." As it turns out, she doesn't often speak off the cuff. "I did not mean to imply all guns loaded in the sense of actual firearms, but rather in the sense of all the resources I can muster to ensure my children can attend school without masks. Apologies for my poor choice of words."
In a separate Facebook post, the Luray police said King apologized immediately.
At the end, the Board voted 4-2 to allow parents to decide whether to mask their children. Masks would be required for all staff and students on school buses.
In the event that parents do not want their children to wear masks in school, they must sign an opt-out form. Even if parents don't want their children to be masked, the Board will require them to do so.
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