Police charge woman who threatened to bring guns to school over mask mandate

A Virginia mother who threatened to bring loaded weapons to her children's school over a mask mandate was charged Friday by the Luray Police Department.

Amelia Ruffner King, 42, was charged with a violation of a Virginia statute that prohibits oral threats of bodily harm on school property.

King attended a Page County School Board meeting on Thursday where video footage showed her protesting against a mask mandate.

"All right, no mask mandates," King can be heard saying.

"My child - my children will not come to school on Monday with a mask on. All right, that's not happening. And I will bring every single gun loaded and ready to - I will call every-," King said before she was interrupted by school officials.

The comments "were perceived by many to be threatening in nature," wrote Page County School Superintendent Antonia Fox and Page County School Board Chair Megan Gordon in a joint statement.

"Page County Public Schools does not take these kinds of statements lightly," they wrote.

The school board voted to make masks optional after the meeting where King was present.

The Luray Police Department announced that King was released on a $5,000 unsecured bond and that they will have a larger presence at the school Monday.

King apologized for her comments and is cooperating with law enforcement, said Luray Police Chief Bow Cook.

"The statement that was made absolutely caused public alarm, the parent that made the statement realized that, and immediately contacted law enforcement to apologize because the statement was not intended the way it was perceived," Cook said in a statement posted to Facebook Friday.