ProPublica

He Became Convinced the School Board Was Pushing “Transgender Bullshit.” He Ended Up Arrested — and Emboldened.
==

Eric Jensen, a parent in #NorthCarolina, had
grievances to air about #library
books “trying to convert kids to gay,” and about mask and vaccine mandates. So he joined an activist group and headed to a #SchoolBoard meeting.

#Schools #Arrests #Parents #Students
https://www.propublica.org/article/winston-salem-nc-school-board-arrests?utm_medium=social&utm_source=mastodon&utm_campaign=mastodon-post

He Became Convinced the School Board Was Pushing “Transgender Bullshit.” He Ended Up Arrested — and Emboldened.

Eric Jensen, a parent in North Carolina, had grievances to air about library books “trying to convert kids to gay,” and about mask and vaccine mandates. So he joined an activist group and headed to a school board meeting.

ProPublica
May 20, 2023 at 12:19pmWeb
Show threadmonorail timesMay 20, 2023
@ProPublica holy shit this dude needs to be on a watchlist
Show threadMelanie76NicoleMay 20, 2023
@ProPublica Jesus he honesty thinks he is above everything. Wow. I’d be scared to be in his neighbourhood honestly. 😬
Show threadThomas H Jones IIMay 20, 2023
@ProPublica On the plus side, at least he was a parent and not just some rando, "concerned citizen". Too many boards let themselves be held hostage by crazies with no actual stake in the outcomes (and, no, "I pay taxes," isn't enough to have meaningful stake in the outcomes).
Show threadIncognitimMay 20, 2023
@ferricoxide @ProPublica
On the minus side- that qult member has 9 children. It's scary to think what kind of upbringing that loon has subjected them to.
Show threadsloganMay 20, 2023
@ProPublica Well written, allowing me to draw my own conclusions. My conclusion? Uneven application of the laws emboldens lawless behaviour. Dangerous especially in this sort of situation.
Show threadJamesWNealMay 20, 2023
@ProPublica But y'know, he does have one valid point & too bad more people don't get it, since people like him do - - “You gotta start from the bottom and work yourself up,” Jensen said, not long after he reluctantly opened his front door last November. “I mean, you can’t just go to your governors and try to make a difference. So you start at the bottom, and the bottom is school boards.”
Show threadSue B.May 20, 2023
@ProPublica
This freak needs to be on a terrorist watch list.
Show threadIncognitimMay 20, 2023

@ProPublica
'ProPublica identified 59 people arrested or charged in an 18-month period as a result of turmoil at school board meetings across the country. PP will continue to publish stories about how that unrest has played out in various communities & upended school board meetings.

In the dozens of incidents PP examined, some of which involved threats & violence, only one person who disrupted a meeting was given a jail sentence: a college student protesting in support of transgender rights.'

Show threadHomerbrewMay 20, 2023
@ProPublica This is why you MUST prosecute these people. If you don’t they become emboldened to keep committing crimes because there are no consequences. Just like we need to do with our politicians and judges that commit crimes, they need to know there are and face consequences for their actions
Show threadWombatPMMay 21, 2023
@homerbrew @ProPublica These people do not just cause problems in meetings, they continue to cause problems for board members outside of meetings. My neighbor was a school board member for years. He quit once the attacks became personal and his car was vandalized. Nice man with a good heart who decided he had enough.
Show threadDarwin WoodkaMay 21, 2023
@ProPublica have they background checked him for child pornography and molestation yet? Most of these accusers seem to turn out to be pervs themselves...