Police probing mask threat

Large police presence greeted students returning to class Tuesday morning

Oley Valley School District students were greeted by a significant police presence as they returned to school from the holiday weekend Tuesday morning after an online threat was made over the district’s enforcement of a new statewide school mask mandate.

In a message posted to his Facebook page Monday evening, a Montgomery County man shared a letter sent to parents in the district about the mask mandate that went into effect Tuesday.

The man, whose name the Reading Eagle is withholding because he has not been charged, encouraged violence against the district in reaction to the planned enforcement of the mandate.

“I’m begging ALL ARMED US CITIZENS TO TAKE CARE OF THESE PEOPLE IMMEDIATELY,” his lengthy post began. “Target anyone mandating, complying with or enforcing these sick crimes against all of humanity.”

The man wrote that he was not concerned about the potential consequences of his post.

“They won’t take me alive, and if I get killed for this, at least God will judge right from very, very wrong,” he wrote.

As of 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, the post was still visible on the man’s public Facebook page.

The message is the subject of an ongoing po

Threat under investigation

Central Berks Police Chief Raymond Serafin said Tuesday that his department was alerted to the message early Monday evening.

A team of detectives was called in to immediately begin investigating.

“Time was of the essence,” he said.

Serafin said the threat had to be taken very seriously, saying police could not “leave any stones unturned.”

“We rather err on the side of caution rather than have something happen,” he said.

As a result, what Serafin called a large presence of police was on hand at the district’s schools as students arrived Tuesday morning. A police presence will continue at the schools as long as necessary to ensure the safety of students and staff, he added.

The chief said “everything went smoothly” Tuesday morning, with no incidents reported.

Central Berks police are investigating the threat in cooperation with the Berks County district attorney’s Office.

District Attorney John T. Adams said Tuesday that investigators would be speaking with the man behind the threat Tuesday, calling his post “inappropriate and potentially criminal.”

Adams said investigators haven’t yet been found any connection between the man and the district.

“He appears to be a random person,” Adams said.

The man’s Facebook page is filled with anti-mask posts and posts calling the COVID-19 pandemic fake. It also contains conspiracy-laden posts about the “deep state,” “neuro warfare” related to 5G cellphone networks and “big website censorship.”

He did not appear to make threats via Facebook to any other individual school districts.

School district response

Oley Valley parents were informed of the threats in a message sent out late Monday night by Dr. Tracy Shank, superintendent.

“The district and the Central Berks police department was made aware of a Facebook post late this (Monday) evening that contained a possible threat,” it read. “The threat is being thoroughly investigated by the Central Berks Police Department in consultation with the District Attorney’s Office.”

The message went on to inform parents about the police presence at schools Tuesday, and encouraged parents to contact police if they had any further information about the threatening Facebook post.

Schank said Tuesday that is is unfortunate that local schools are being targeted for enforcing a state mandate they had no hand in crafting.

“People need to understand that this ‘mask versus no mask’ is an issue that needs to be decided at the state level and not in our schools,” she said. “Schools just want to get back to teaching, learning and providing athletics and activities for students and not be put in the middle.”

The threatening Facebook post was made in response to another message sent out by Shank earlier Monday. That message reminded parents that the mask mandate would go into effect Tuesday and described how it would be enforced in the district.

“Failure to wear a face covering will result in the student being sent home for failure to follow school rules,” it stated.

The message said district officials were aware of misinformation that was circulating on social media about the district’s ability to remove students who don’t comply with the mandate and discussion about parents attempting to challenge the mandate.

The district has coordinated with local police and its legal counsel, the message said, and would be firm in its enforcement of the legally binding mandate. In the event of widespread challenges to enforcement of the mandate, school buildings will be closed.

“If at any point where the schools become unsafe due to political protests or large numbers of students and/or parents failing to comply with the required, legally binding mandate, the district will move to a fully virtual instructional model to ensure everyone’s safety,” the message read. “While in a virtual model, all after-school and evening activities will be canceled.”

Other threats

Sefarin and Adams said that they were unaware of any other direct threats similar to those made against Oley Valley being made against any other Berks schools.

However, both said they are aware of harsh rhetoric being posted on social media about requiring students to wear face masks inside schools.

“We are aware that there may be other individuals posting inappropriate things,” Adams said.

The district attorney said that if those social media posts reach the level of potential threats, as the one directed at Oley Valley has, law enforcement will take action.

Pandemic still raging

Gov. Tom Wolf recently announced the Department of Health was issuing an order requiring universal mask wearing in schools in response to the latest COVID surge that is being fueled by the ultra-contagious delta variant.

The state saw 2,503 new COVID cases reported Monday and 3,176 new cases reported on Sunday after topping 4,800 multiple times last week.

As of Monday there were 1,963 people hospitalized with COVID statewide. Berks saw a delta record of 152 new cases on Monday, and the county has had 11 COVID deaths over the past week. Just over 1,000 people have died in Berks since the start of the pandemic.

The new statewide order requires everyone who enters a school or childcare in Pennsylvania to wear a face mask regardless of their vaccination status. Prior to issuing the order the state recommended masking in schools but did not require them.