ProPublicaJul 19, 2023

How School Board Meetings Became Flashpoints for Anger and Chaos Across the Country
==

In the first wide-ranging analysis of school board unrest, ProPublica found nearly 60 incidents that led to arrests or criminal charges. Almost all were in suburban districts, and nearly every participant was white.

#Education #Schools #SchoolBoards #Violence #Arrests #Protests #Parents #Teachers #News

https://projects.propublica.org/school-board-meetings-flashpoints-for-anger-chaos/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=mastodon&utm_campaign=mastodon-post

How School Board Meetings Became Flashpoints for Anger and Chaos Across the Country

In the first wide-ranging analysis of school board unrest, ProPublica found nearly 60 incidents that led to arrests or criminal charges. Almost all were in suburban districts, and nearly every participant was white.

ProPublica
Show threadmekka okereke Jul 20, 2023

@ProPublica

This is a very impressive and fancy article, that does not include the phrase "Proud Boys" even once. 🤷🏿‍♂️

At some point your reporters and investigators had to have noticed that:
* The Proud Boys announced that they planned to target school board meetings to disrupt them
* That Proud Boys were then present at school board meetings in different states, at different times, on different topics, from Covid masks and vaccines, to CRT, then trans rights.

It's literally the same 50 dudes.

vollrathianJul 20, 2023
Show threadmekka okereke 

@ProPublica

That's why they don't let me be editor of publications.🤷🏿‍♂️

Because if I were your editor, I would tell you to go back and try again because you missed the story.

Who is paying to fly these Proud Boys around the country? How many of these angry speakers are not even authentic members of the community? What is the ultimate goal of disrupting school boards? Why did federal law enforcement not take action against this clearly concerted and coordinated effort to disrupt school boards?

Jul 20, 2023 at 1:35amWeb
Show threadmekka okereke Jul 20, 2023

@ProPublica

Roseville. San Juan. Glendale. Nashua. Hillsborough. San Diego. Wilmington.

All of these are school board meetings / officials' houses / places of work, where they showed up. And that's mostly off the top of my head. Many more.

"How did the meetings become flashpoints for anger and chaos?" is not a serious question to ask, if you're going to ignore the group that exists mainly to cause anger and chaos, promising to cause anger and chaos when they show up, who then showed up. 🤷🏿‍♂️

Show threadJohn ShirleyJul 20, 2023
@mekkaokereke @ProPublica in the tradition of German "brown shirts"
Show threadThe Animal and the MachineJul 20, 2023

Honestly, @mekkaokereke for President.

To be fair, I can’t vote 🇬🇧.

Show threadPJ "Vote Green" CoffeyJul 20, 2023

@taatm

I mean... Okereke vs Starmer...

@mekkaokereke

Show threadAurora PenguinJul 20, 2023
@mekkaokereke @ProPublica what? The proud boys travel a lot but is here any evidence all of these instigators are somehow proud boys or part of those other groups? The article has several that were older women and just seem to be typical Fox news watching moms
Show threadmekka okereke Jul 20, 2023

@aurorapenguin @ProPublica

Please go back and read what I wrote carefully. Very carefully.

Please quote the part where I said that all of the instigators were proud boys. (You can't, because I didn't say that anywhere).

What I did say was *very* clear, and spicy enough without you inventing things I didn't say.

Show threadAurora PenguinJul 20, 2023
@mekkaokereke @ProPublica my mistake
Show threadmav Jul 20, 2023

@mekkaokereke @aurorapenguin @[email protected] i have to admit I reached the same conclusion, and I guess I misinterpreted ... well, everything?

To me this read as, in short: it's not local people, it's the same 50 dudes flying around the country stirring up shit at school boards everywhere.

If the locals weren't welcoming, this wouldn't work nearly as well, and there's no way those 50 dudes would try and cover the dozens of school districts in idaho alone. It's the locals.

Show threadmekka okereke Jul 20, 2023

@mav @aurorapenguin

Let me explain what I mean by "Same 50 dudes."

Yes there are 1000s of local people that disrupted school board meetings. But the PB leadership travelled and was present at many of these, instigated much of the violence, and was at the center of it.

There were thousands of people at Jan 6. The violence was precipitated and agitated by members of 3 or 4 very specific groups.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fkT1_qjBhb8

Trying to tell the story without mentioning them is not good journalism.

Proud Boys Target School Board Meetings | Zerlina.

As the DC Attorney General files a civil suit against extremist groups for their role in the Jan. 6 insurrection, one group, the Proud Boys, has refocused th...

YouTube
Show threadmav Jul 20, 2023
@mekkaokereke @aurorapenguin Ok, totally agreed. The story definitely feels more like a "this terrible thing is happening" story and much less of the kind of investigative story that one would generally expect from ProPublica
Show threadJohn ShirleyJul 20, 2023
@mekkaokereke @ProPublica when a guy associated with proud boys, Joe Kent, was running against Democrat Marie Perez in our district, it was learned that he had no particular income or job, and that he was getting paid to run for office by some company. Which was a shell company.
Show threadbirdpoofJul 20, 2023

@JohnShirley2023 @mekkaokereke @ProPublica

How are shell companies even legal...!

Show threadJohn ShirleyJul 20, 2023
@birdpoof @mekkaokereke @ProPublica well they're important for our corporations and super rich, to whom we owe our existence (if you ask them) to use for shell games hiding their income.
Show threadVulcanTourist [MOVED]Jul 20, 2023

@birdpoof @JohnShirley2023 @mekkaokereke @ProPublica

Corporate law doesn't favor ethics. Rather, it completely ignores it.

Show threadCoach Pāṇini ®Jul 20, 2023

@JohnShirley2023 @mekkaokereke @ProPublica
The story of school boards as “soft targets” for reactionaries is even older, going back to the Reagan administration.

In the 1980’s, activists identified them as an unattended institution, while liberals and institutionally-minded Democrats shifted their attention to the federal level.

Show threadPhilip Mallegol-HansenJul 20, 2023
@JohnShirley2023 We live in the same district! Hi neighbor.
Show threadEarthOneJul 20, 2023

@JohnShirley2023 @mekkaokereke @ProPublica

GOP Billionaire SuperPACs and Koch-backed "non-profits" full of dark money even hire people to run as Democrats in Dem. districts. They win sometimes...and then flip to GOP. Or split the Dem. vote enough to give GOP the win.

If we don't get some federal laws on vetting candidates soon, GOP will cheat their way to ending democracy. Their Machiavellian political machine is humming along.

Show threadThe Animal and the MachineJul 20, 2023
@JohnShirley2023 @mekkaokereke @ProPublica
This is in the Soviet playbook (actual playbook written by Soviets and still used by Russia) for turning an enemy against itself. Look for Russian money.
Show threadjubjumJul 20, 2023
@mekkaokereke hello friend. pardon my ignorance but do you have any theories regarding the answers to the questions you posed? perhaps recommended reading for me? i am interested in learning more.
Show threadaardvarkJul 20, 2023
@jubjum @mekkaokereke https://hachyderm.io/@mekkaokereke/110744242573185113
mekka okereke :verified: (@[email protected])

@[email protected] @[email protected] Let me explain what I mean by "Same 50 dudes." Yes there are 1000s of local people that disrupted school board meetings. But the PB leadership travelled and was present at many of these, instigated much of the violence, and was at the center of it. There were thousands of people at Jan 6. The violence was precipitated and agitated by members of 3 or 4 very specific groups. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fkT1_qjBhb8 Trying to tell the story without mentioning them is not good journalism.

Hachyderm.io
Show threadPaul HornJul 20, 2023

@ProPublica @mekkaokereke There’s this dude named Lt. General (ret) Michael Flynn who just may be involved.

Did they not even do the simplest of searches, let alone true due diligence?

Show threadPaul HornJul 20, 2023

@ProPublica @mekkaokereke If you’re looking for some reporting about Flynn, the Proud Boys and school boards, the first link in the screenshot has some reporting on it.

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/michael-flynn-local-action/

How Michael Flynn Goes Local to Spread Christian Nationalism | FRONTLINE

Retired three-star general Michael Flynn urges supporters of a far-right movement to change the U.S. through "local action." AP and FRONTLINE found Sarasota County, Florida, has become a laboratory for his approach.

FRONTLINE
Show threadPaul HornJul 20, 2023
@ProPublica @mekkaokereke And this.
Show threadPaul HornJul 20, 2023

@ProPublica @mekkaokereke From the second link:

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/qanons-new-plan-run-school-board-rcna1352

QAnon's new 'plan'? Run for school board

In the wake of Donald Trump's 2020 election defeat, many QAnon followers have hatched a plan: run for school board or local office, spread the gospel of Q, but don’t call it QAnon.

NBC News
Show threadPaul HornJul 20, 2023

@ProPublica @mekkaokereke While I’d hesitate to use a Wikipedia article itself as a source, this one has a large number of citations in its discussion of the involvement of Moms for Liberty in the school board sphere:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moms_for_Liberty

Moms for Liberty - Wikipedia

Show threadPaul HornJul 20, 2023
@ProPublica @mekkaokereke Finally, here’s an article that lists a number of organizations that are funding protesters of school boards: https://www.npr.org/2021/10/26/1049078199/a-look-at-the-groups-supporting-school-board-protesters-nationwide
Show threadyour auntifa liza 🇵🇷 🦛 🦦Jul 20, 2023

🗣️ 📣 THIS
🗣️ 📣 RIGHT
🗣️ 📣 HERE

" Who is paying to fly these Proud Boys around the country? How many of these angry speakers are not even authentic members of the community? What is the ultimate goal of disrupting school boards? Why did federal law enforcement not take action against this clearly concerted and coordinated effort to disrupt school boards?

@mekkaokereke @ProPublica