School Board districts across Arizona are the latest target for right-wing, Trump and QAnon followers from one end of the county to the other. Bringing in outside agitators creates chaos in public meetings and protesting curriculums they fear and know nothing about. Their goal is not better education but simple disruption.
Recently from Scottsdale to Litchfield Park to Vail – and soon to other school boards in-between – ‘Purple Parents’ has engaged in shouting matches with elected school board members, attempted to seat rogue board members, and threats of violence. These local insurrectionists follow the script of nationalistic and white supremacists spewed on January 6th against the federal government and Democracy itself.
Purple Parents call teachers “Terrorists”
At the bedrock level of Democracy, our duly elected local school boards are being overrun and threatened by forces seeking no loftier goal than the breakdown of our educational institutions.
The forces let loose in Washington, DC, inspire and even organize these grassroots efforts to question our Maricopa County elections and attack local school boards with mobs chanting right-wing conspiracies, racist ideology, and opposition to current health codes.
Purple Parents in violent protest
For example, at a recent Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) in-person meeting of the Board of Governors, the policy of requiring masks to protect everyone’s health was demonstrably rejected by numerous attendees. Some of them were identified as from outside the district and brought in to disrupt the meeting. After numerous requests from the board to adhere to the health policy, and with loud objections to the requirement still ringing in the air, the meeting was suspended.
Scottsdale Police officials later said they have tracked these groups of agitators to other school districts in the valley and warn of potentially violent conflicts.
Critically important on the agenda of that meeting – and also sad – was the suspension of year-end SUSD awards to students, teachers, and others for their academic achievements, professional commitment, and service to their education community. Recognition for their positive efforts was also dismissed, shouted down by the thoughtless crowd.
In Litchfield Park over several weeks, a sea of purple shirts has descended upon quiet, normally boring Litchfield Elementary School District (LESD) meetings. They angrily demanded to know why the district was implementing an “equity program” they claimed was anti-white. The program – discussed, updated, and approved by the elected board in December 2020 – was meant to address poor academic performance and high rates of suspensions of students of color.
Despite LESD continually denying accusations of being anti-white, the mob, known as the Purple for Parents, scolded the board against critical race theory and The 1619 Project and demanded cancellation of the equity program. In several meetings, a disruptive crowd cheered for their supporters and jeered at the pro-equity supporters. Insults were flung and district employees were verbally attacked.
Purple for Parents is a spinoff of Patriot Movement AZ, identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group. More than 30 ‘Patriot’ members have become GOP precinct committeemen. According to attendees at the meetings, many parents have lodged complaints to the LESD worried some in the audience may be armed and pose physical threats against staff, board members, and parents.
At the national level, Democracy was attacked by seditionist Electoral College challenges and current bogus audits designed to call into question the legitimacy of Presidential election outcomes – right here in Maricopa County and soon in other battleground states. Locally, at the core of our civic life, Maricopa County school boards are being attacked by home-grown versions of hate groups, white nationalists, and fear mongers.
To the purveyors of both threats to our Democracy, our voices must be louder, our protests bigger, and our moral outrage more visible. The civil rights and anti-war movements of recent decades showed us the way. We need to learn those lessons and tactics again. In our era, this fight to protect Democracy deserves no less.
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For that matter, why do all these Christianists who say Jesus protects them always need to be packing heat?
Your vail attempt to minimize anything that you don’t agree with is typical textbook attacks from the far left. The far left extremist have nothing of value to offer schools so they introduce extreme programs like critical race theory, heavy on the theory, to indoctrinate young minds. Then they launch and all out attack against anyone who disagrees with them. Liberals resort to name calling and accusations that the person who disagrees with them is racist. The far left is incapable of critical thinking for themselves so they rely on pundits like Ron and yourself to tell them how to think. Liberalism is a disease that needs eradicated.
The article did not even mention “critical race theory.” Opposing violent protests is not “a disease.” The rioters who disrupt school boards are the same kind of people who rioted at the US Capitol on January 6.
Oh my goodness, ‘Blog For Arizona’ should be ashamed of themselves!
This is NOT a hate group and is the furthest thing from one! To suggest it is a hate group shows your media basef bioted, Marxist ideology.
The Purple For Parents group is seeing through the lies and red tape, and if you don’t believe it, research it and their ideals for yourself instead of listening to this propagandist blog source.
Golly Maggie. Did you not see the picture of the bloated, gun-toting, ammo-bedecked Forest Moriarty, of the violent hate group ‘Patriot Movement AZ? He founded the purple parents. Why does he need guns n’ ammo for school boards. A picture is worth a thousand words.
Blue and purple parents should be up in arms of hat groups. To have teachers teach hat groups are right they are not and should not have a class room teaching if. We are not to teach religion in school the same with hat group like racists and. Nazis or the KKk groups is the question here to be in public schools and charters. The media is not make this up it is some thing. TRUMP and the right wing group want. For who are the ones that raided the Capital building. That is not a hoax.
Your sub-headline “Purple Parents in violent protest” caught my attention but as I read on, I saw no reference to violence? You shouldn’t mislead or should I say mis-lede like that.
Hi John
I hope all is well. A few things. I am currently researching an article on the same topic of school boards and a couple of sources told me (and I read as well) that you did nothing at the Scottsdale Board meeting a couple of weeks back when children could not get recognized for their academic and extracurricular achievements because a substantial number of attendees would not be responsible and wear masks. I heard they were not very mature and well behaved about it. Can you lend us your first-hand perspective on what you saw and why you did nothing to get these people to follow the rules so the children of your voters could have a positive (instead of negative) experience. Also, can you please advise why you support a flat tax when economic history shows they do not work and why have you voted for voter suppression measures when there is no fraud. Please advise and take care.
And I am about to block this news site cause of their LEFT WING JOURNALISTS!!!!!
It’s not a hate group. Why is everything Democrats don’t agree with a hate group? That’s just a name-calling ploy when you don’t have a substantive, positive — or knowledgeable — response to anyone who doesn’t align with your politics. Perhaps you should sit down with this so-called hate group and do a REAL news story, like journalists used to do. You might learn something. It won’t mean you have to agree with them. But it at least would show you made an effort to see what it is they’re storming school boards about.
Great article Ron. This is an important evolution of the terrorist tactics of the GQP. We have to be ready and willing to counter their domestic terrorism against our democratic institutions.
Ron Williams article only shows his very liberal bent. If the news in Az is for real, why can I watch the local news and not here one thing about the mess at the border?
An advanced case of What-Aboutism. Note the utter lack of addressing the issue discussed and the accusation of a liberal viewpoint, as if that invalidates the facts communicated. This is a classic case. Unfortunately the only cure is to completely cut of the mind of the What-Aboutism infected from Far White propaganda channels. Such a crapectomy often leaves the patient brain dead; if they are not already.
You spelled here (hear) wrong.
This is not
News , it is another article made up in the mind of an Agenda driven democratic author.
This is not a comment, it is the detritus of a mind poisoned by Far White media.
What proof is there that these people are Trump followers this is just based on the media saying this theses people are making their on choices no one to blame for their actions but themselves stop trying to blame Trump the Red party the blue Party people know right from wrong hold them accountable for their on action no one else
Wow. Complete gibberish.Did someone set a word salad program loose using TownHall and Brietbart as the data base?
“Failed GOP legislative candidate Forest Moriarty, a Republican precinct committeeman, founded Purple for Parents.”
I remember another failed GQP candidate and Republican precinct committeeman, J. T. Ready.
He was a Nazi mass murderer who literally shot a baby to death.
The bar for being an official in the GQP is low.
So sad to see these qanon bullies starting trouble for public education. We must run them off. They don’t represent rational Americans. I think they are owned by beelzebub!