A series of racist incidents was the center of attention at Arundel High School in Baltimore and resulted in the arrest of a Black student. Earlier this month a group of unidentified students calling themselves the “Kool Kids Klan” circulated a racist petition around the school. The petition encouraged White students to join the group and the last line reads, “Do your civic duty and make sure everyone knows their proper place below Whites.”
News of the petition caused concern among the students, parents and administrators at the school and meetings were held to discuss the situation. The school district later stated that all the students involved in that incident were identified and disciplined. After that incident was resolved by the school, a post on Twitter once again raised concerns. A series of posts with the Twitter handle @KoolkidsKlanKkk echoed the statements of the racist petition and also stated, “We’re planning to attack tomorrow.” Police began working with Twitter to track down the person who made the threatening tweet and made an arrest. Surprisingly, the suspect is a 14-year-old Black female student at the school. Police questioned the girl with her parents present and she admitted to sending the threat. The unnamed student was charged with a juvenile citation for disruption of school activities and released to her parents.
“The federal law prohibits me from telling you exactly what the consequences were. But I will say to you that the school acted swiftly, they acted aggressively and they administered appropriated disciplinary action,” said Bob Mosier, chief communications officer of Anne Arundel Public Schools.
Anne Arundel County Public Schools Superintendent George Arlotto released the following statement: “I want to thank Police Chief Tim Altomare, State’s Attorney Wes Adams, County Executive Steve Schuh, and their staffs for their thorough and expeditious work to identify a suspect in the online post that threatened violence at Arundel High School this week. The anonymity of the internet provides a murky and complex disguise for many who want to threaten the safety and security of our communities. Our partners in the Police Department and county government peeled back that disguise quickly in this case, in the process reassuring parents, students, and staff that our schools are safe places in which to educate our children.”
Hate-based incidents have increased on the campuses of many schools during the heated campaign rhetoric of the 2016 presidential election.
