Texas school board's 'equity' co-chair RESIGNS after doxxing white parents and leaving foul-mouthed voicemails when they sued over mask mandate
A Hispanic school board member who released private information of white Forth Worth parents who sued the district over Covid-19 mask mandates has resigned, blaming 'relentless attacks' on her by 'white supremacists'.
Norma Garcia-Lopez, the Fort Worth Independent School District's Racial Equity Committee Co-Chair, had admitted that she released the information on social media and swore at a mother in a vulgar voicemail - but defended the decision.
Now, Garcia-Lopez has resigned from her position and said she could not allow the 'vile and relentless attacks on me by white supremacists to distract from the pursuit of equity in the Fort Worth Independent School District', reports Fox News.
Garcia-Lopez had been backed by the schoolboard at a news conference last Thursday after she allegedly received dozens of threatening and racist phone and social media messages, calling for her removal in November.
The alleged threatening messages came after Garcia-Lopez posted private information about parents who had filed a lawsuit against the Fort Worth Independent School District (ISD) over its mask mandate, securing a temporary injunction in August.
In one instance, Garcia-Lopez accused the parents - who are all white - of 'white power' and revealed in a Facebook post the phone number and addresses of four families, as well as the name of one's employer and work address.
She also left a foul-mouthed tirade on a voicemail for one of the parents.
'F**** you, you stupid b****. F**** you with your white privilege, not caring about the well-being of others, f*** you,' Garcia-Lopez said in the voicemail, according to a recording found by Dailymail.com.
Norma Garcia-Lopez (pictured) is the co-chair of the Fort Worth independent school district board's Racial Equity Committee. She resigned after doxxing personal information of parents online and leaving a profanity-laced voicemail attacking a mother who sued the school district over a COVID-19 mask mandate
Pictured: A quote tweet from Garcia -Lopez revealing the names of families against the school district's COVID-19 mask mandate
Pictured: A Facebook screenshot of a post from Norma Garcia-Lopez, sharing details of the parents who appealed against the school district's mask mandate. Later in the comments, Garcia-Lopez says that the parent 'definitely need to be called out'.
Announcing her resignation, in an email seen by Fox News, Garcia-Lopez wrote: 'I am writing to inform [Fort Worth Independent School District] that it has become necessary for me to resign from my volunteer positions with the District, including as member and co-chair of the Racial Equity Committee and as a member of the Redistricting Committee.
'Every student in FWISD deserves equity and respect. That is my passion and reason for serving on those committees,' Garcia-Lopez continued.
'I cannot allow the vile and relentless attacks on me by white supremacists to distract from or overshadow the continued pursuit of equity in FWISD. That work is too vital.
'Please notify the appropriate FWISD staff and committee members of my resignation.'
The resignation came after Garcia doxxed parents who had filed a lawsuit against the school district over its mask mandate.
Doxxing means to search for and publish private or identifying information about a particular individual on the internet, typically with malicious intent.
Before announcing her resignation, Garcia-Lopez defended her decision and said in a statement to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: 'Some people consider my actions doxxing. It's not doxxing when you expose someone who filed a public motion in a public court of law that impacts public school children.'
Earlier, Garcia-Lopez wrote on her Twitter account, which no longer exists: 'It's astounding what the 'White Privilege' power from Tanglewood has vs a whole diverse community that cares for the well being of others.
'These are their names: Jennifer Treger, Todd Daniel, Kerri Rehmeyer and a coward Jane Doe. Internet do your thang.'
Garcia-Lopez then revealed the phone numbers as well as the addresses of the four families, along with Rehmeyer's employer and work email address, under a Facebook post. She later commented, under the same post, that the parents 'definitely need to be called out' after someone thanked her for sharing the information.
Fort Worth Independent School District has so far not taken any action against Garcia-Lopez
Kerri Rehmeyer, a real estate agent, said that the death threats Garcia-Lopez has so far received are 'totally uncalled-for' despite receiving a vulgar voicemail from the co-chair
Garcia-Lopez also defended her move to leave a voicemail full of swearing on Kerri Rehmeyer's phone, using a blocked number to call her. The call was made after the parents, who had sued FWISD for a mask mandate, won the lawsuit and before Garcia-Lopez was made co-chair of the Racial Equity Committee.
'F**** you, you stupid b****. F**** you with your white privilege, not caring about the well-being of others, f*** you,' Garcia-Lopez said in the voicemail, according to a recording found by Dailymail.com.
Speaking about Garcia-Lopez's resignation, Rehmeyer told Fox News: 'Ultimately, we are relieved to hear that Norma Garcia-Lopez will no longer hold positions of influence in Fort Worth ISD, but we are disappointed by the complete lack of action by the Board of Trustees.'
Rehmeyer said that the board 'haven't bothered to notify us she resigned,' adding that she believes the school board will 'continue to ignore our concerns'.
In a statement released before her resignation, Garcia-Lopez said of the abusive voicemail she left for Rehmeyer: 'My message contained harsh language — no threats.
'Some people find my choice of words in that message offensive. But what's really offensive is that four white parents could hold so much power.'
In a video showing her making a speech in front of the school district, Garcia-Lopez emphasizes that supporting local mask mandates is synonymous with advocating for children.
'When we're advocating for their health and safety, for mask mandates, for vaccines, for everything, for all the equity in the classrooms, that's because we care, not because we don't,' Garcia-Lopez said.
At Thursday's Racial Equity meeting, co-chair Garcia-Lopez slammed parents opposing the school district's COVID-19 mask mandate once more, saying: 'when did a healthcare crisis become political?'
Max Krochmal, a history professor at Texas Christian University, spoke at a press conference defending Norma Garcia-Lopez on Thursday, while targeted parents called for his colleague's removal
Max Krochmal, an award-winning history professor at Texas Christian University and a member of the committee, defended Garcia-Lopez at a news conference Thursday.
He said some members of the committee drafted a resolution, demanding the school district affirm its 'support for Garcia-Lopez as co-chair of the Racial Equity Committee, with a note of appreciation and thanks.'
The Racial Equity Committee was created in 2016 to recommend practices to the school board that support, rather than discriminate, students and staff of color.
But ever since she decided to turn against parents of the school district, Garcia-Lopez has received 'racist and fat-shaming statements,' requests to 'go back to Mexico,' and ill-wish memos calling her 'a great candidate for having a stroke.' She has also received death threats and remarks concerning the safety of her family.
'They sent a lynch mob to attack me,' Garcia-Lopez said. 'They want to silence me from advocating for equity, by pressuring me into resigning as co-chair of the Racial Equity Committee.'
Rehmeyer, who was the recipient of Garcia-Lopez's profanity-laced voicemail, said she did not participate in the release of Garcia-Lopez's personal information, which has been released by doxxers. Fearing for her safety, Garcia-Lopez has had to follow local law enforcement's recommendation to protect herself from danger.
Rehmeyer has also rebutted Garcia-Lopez's claim about being attacked by a lynch mob, saying that 'all we did was go to the media with what she had done to us.'
The targeted mother, who is also a real estate professional for Wilco Realtors, also criticized people who sent the committee co-chair any threats or racist messages, saying: 'That's just totally uncalled-for.'
While Rehmeyer acknowledged the findings of her name and address, as well as the ones of the three other families, in legal court documents, she accused Garcia-Lopez of telling to people to 'go after us, said where I worked.'
'I received 17 voicemails at work from one person,' Rehmeyer said, adding that some of the other targeted parents have local businesses that have received negative reviews online from people who 'don't even try to pretend that they were clients.'
'I had a previous client who said she hoped that I died,' the mother revealed.
On a further note, Rehmeyer said that the criticism went too far and that it 'has nothing to do with equity work.' Rather, she claims it has everything to do with the way she and and other parents were treated by Garcia-Lopez.
'She's not holding to the standards that they have for teachers and students,' she said. Her and the other targeted families forwarded screenshots of Garcia-Lopez's actions to the school board but never heard anything back.
'It's unacceptable to me that they're not holding her accountable,' Rehmeyer said.
Carlos Turcios, a 20-year-old former member of the school district's Racial Equity Committee, denounced the lack of consequences that Garcia-Lopez has had to face.
'It is unacceptable that the ISD is not holding the co-chair accountable for her actions,' Turcios told Fox News. 'She doxxed parents and financially impacted one of the parents' businesses. What type of leadership is the committee and FWISD showing to its students? That bullying and intimidation are OK? That it's fine to leave voicemails harassing parents if they disagree with you?'
'Superintendent [Kent] Scribner should resign for allowing this environment of bullying,' Turcios added.
No comments