Crowley ISD, North Texas schools ‘monitoring situation’ after rumored racist threats
Tara Sheehan began hearing from parents in Crowley on Monday, all of them concerned about a rumor of a disturbing racist threat that had been spreading over Facebook. The calls, largely from people with Black or Hispanic children, kept coming, Sheehan said — eventually more than 50 through this week.
A Facebook message from a community member, captured in a screenshot that circulated widely, describes how her brother was approached by two co-workers about a KKK group with a violent plot to kidnap Black or brown children before the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden. The rumored threat concerned so many in the community that Crowley Mayor Billy P. Davis issued a statement on the city’s Facebook page saying police have been made aware of it. It is “unsubstantiated” by law enforcement at this time, Davis said, but the city and its police “take any threat seriously.”
The Crowley Independent School District has issued a statement, too, saying due in part to concerns spreading on social media there will be a larger police presence at schools. The proactive decision, according to the statement, “is being made out of an abundance of caution.”
The rumored threat additionally alleges a plan for racist violence against kidnapped children on Inauguration Day. This comes after the deadly Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., where a group, encouraged by President Donald Trump at a rally, stormed into the building with Confederate flags prominently displayed. The rioters hoped to stop the certification of Biden’s election victory.
Sheehan, who operates a Facebook group called Crowley Moms in the Know, told the Star-Telegram she has become a sort-of unofficial advocate for many parents with children in Crowley schools. She has heard from people concerned about children being kidnapped, or even that there would be bombs planted on Inauguration Day. Starting Monday, she began sending messages to Crowley ISD, the police, Mayor Davis, even the FBI.
The rumors have been taken seriously by many parents because of the Capitol attack, Sheehan said, and also because of instances of racism in Crowley. Sheehan, who is white, has two young daughters with her Hispanic husband, and said she has heard racial slurs directed at her children.
She initially was hesitant about sending them to school next week, and wishes they could just take a vacation. But she said she’s going to proceed like normal, assured in the messages she’s hearing from public officials.
“The safest place is in a very huge brick building surrounded by a ton of adults who would stand in lock-step formation to protect my kid,” Sheehan said. “The district has police patrolling inside the school. The city has police patrolling outside the school. At this point, you would have to be a complete moron to attack our schools.”
A Crowley police spokesman didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday. Anthony Kirchner, a Crowley ISD spokesman, sent the Star-Telegram its statement in a text message and said, “We aren’t doing any other interviews at this point.”
The concern of sending kids to school this week was very real to many people on Facebook, who posted about the rumor and urged those with children to be aware of it. Sheehan shared public posts about it in various groups, on top of calling police and city officials about it regularly. She said she wishes the city and Mayor Davis had put out a statement on the threat sooner.
The rumor is part of a wave of potential threats floating across the U.S., as the FBI has warned states there could be armed protests at capitols in the run-up to the inauguration. Hateful content, like racial slurs and racist sentiments, as well as violent threats circulated so much on the app Parler that Amazon took it down.
In Fort Worth, Buddy Calzada, a police spokesman, said, “Our intel unit is keeping a watch for any active threats in the City of Fort Worth.” The Fort Worth Independent School District has been reluctant to share specific plans because “our facilities may become less secure,” according to Clint Bond, a district spokesman.
“Our school resource officers are full-time officers of the Fort Worth, Benbrook and Forest Hill Police Departments. We coordinate daily with policing agencies,” Bond said in an email. “We are monitoring the national situation and will do the same for any local situations that may develop.”
Lt. Christopher Cook, an Arlington police spokesman, said in an email to the Star-Telegram, “We continue to monitor the situation closely and work in concert with federal partners. We are not aware of any specific threats at this time.”
For residents of Crowley and nearby cities, especially people of color, the mere fact that the rumors of racist violence and kidnappings were out there is enough reason to be worried about the world in January 2021.
Alexis Halsell, a Black woman residing in Fort Worth, doesn’t have children but has little cousins who are in school. She heard about the rumored threat from a friend who works at North Crowley High School and decided to share it with her followers on Facebook.
It’s ridiculous, she told the Star-Telegram over Facebook, that “in this day and time” Black and brown people have to deal with racism and threats of racist violence. She wanted to share what she had heard to get the word out “so people who have children in the area can be aware.” She said it’s important to have conversations with kids about sadly relevant situations like this.
The infiltration that occurred at the Capitol, despite a police presence, has made Halsell feel concerned even with the assurances of Crowley officials.
“Racism is real and for those who claim that it’s not, they’re the ones who either encourage it or turn a blind eye to it,” Halsell said. “Either way it needs to end.”
This story was originally published January 14, 2021 at 2:39 PM.
