Source: The Federalist
Loudoun County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Ziegler admitted he was “incorrect” to declare an unlawful assembly at a school board meeting in Loudoun County, Virginia, on June 22, at which Jon Tigges and Scott Smith were subsequently arrested for trespassing and disorderly conduct, respectively.
The revelation, reported by Fox News, comes from transcripts of a September hearing for Tigges, whose trespassing charge was enabled by Ziegler’s declaration of an unlawful assembly.
“Individuals had taken over the boardroom and it was very reminiscent to me of January 6,” Ziegler said in another portion of the hearing, apparently trying to justify his decision to shut down the protests of parents, including Smith, who later alleged that his daughter was sexually assaulted in a bathroom at Stone Bridge High School by a boy in a skirt.
“Were there people that were burning chairs inside the room?” asked Tigges’s attorney Chris Kachouroff, in reference to violent left-wing protests in Portland, Oregon.
“No, but there were people who were moving chairs aggressively, yeah,” Ziegler responded.
Loudoun County parent and Fight for Schools Executive Director Ian Prior emphasized that Ziegler had “no legal authority” to declare an unlawful assembly like he did at the June board meeting.
“The school board tried to silence the opposition; they did so over applause for a speaker. And then the Superintendent declared an unlawful assembly when he had no legal authority to do so,” Prior told Fox News. “There will never be trust in Loudoun County Schools until Superintendent Ziegler is fired.”
Earlier this week, emails revealed that the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office in August refused Ziegler’s request to weaponize law enforcement against parents at school board meetings. “[Y]our request is extraordinary and would likely constitute LCSO’s commitment of a minimum of approximately 65 sworn deputies. Despite this, you fail to provide any justification for such a manpower intensive request,” Sheriff Mike Chapman responded after Ziegler sent Chapman an over-the-top list of requests for additional law enforcement at meetings.
Parents, students, and other protesters have grown increasingly frustrated with the actions of the superintendent and the school board, as the district’s cover-up and denial of sexual assault while the board tried to push through its radical agenda have come to light.
“They’ve failed this county, they’ve failed students, they’ve lied to our faces, they’ve left our children very vulnerable and unsafe, and they continue to preach policies that are more coverups for their actions,” mother Erin Roselle Poe told The Federalist at Tuesday’s school board meeting.
