Virginia mom charged for threatening to “bring every single gun loaded and ready”

A Virginia mother has reportedly threatened to bring loaded guns to school during a heated debate about children wearing masks in school.

Amelia King made the comment at the Page County Public School Board meeting in Luray, on Thursday evening. She said: “No mask mandates. My children will not come to school on Monday with a mask on, alright. That’s not happening.”

“My child, my children will not come to school on Monday with a mask on. All right, that’s not happening. And I will bring every single gun loaded and ready to – I will call every-,” King said before she was interrupted by school officials who said she had gone past her three minutes for comment. “I’ll see y’all on Monday,” King said toward the end of the clip.

The statement caused board members to react swiftly. Page County school leaders announced they planned to have a heavier police presence on campuses in the following days, and released a statement condemning the King’s actions.

“Violence and threats are never acceptable or appropriate. 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,” they wrote. In the end, the board voted to leave it up to parents on whether their children would wear a mask to school.

King later wrote an apology to the school board, which was read at a later meeting. “I in no way meant to imply all guns loaded as in actual firearms, but rather all resources I can muster to make sure my children get to attend schools without masks” she wrote. “Sincere apologies for my poor choice in words.”

According to the police announcement, the court released King on a $5,000 bond, which many on social media expressed frustration with. “You released someone on a $5k bond who threatened to shoot up a school? That doesn’t seem appropriate,” a commenter wrote on Facebook in response to the police announcement.

Others expressed concerns for more potential threats in the future. “If she had tried this nonsense in an airport she would be in serious trouble. This absolutely should not be tolerated or dismissed with an ‘oopsie, I misspoke.’ What happens if she spins herself up again by Monday?” another commenter wrote.