After parents protested a masking policy, the security guard who tried to uphold the mandate was charged with harassment.

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The Big Story
Tue. Sep 26, 2023

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This Security Guard Enforced a School District’s Mask Mandate. He Ended Up Facing a Criminal Charge. <[link removed]> Parents protested a mask mandate at a Webster, New York, school board meeting. After Ken Mancini tried to enforce the policy, a parent he ejected pressed charges for harassment. by Nicole Carr

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Chaos at the School Board

How School Board Meetings Became Flashpoints for Anger and Chaos Across the Country <[link removed]> In the first wide-ranging analysis of school board unrest, ProPublica found nearly 60 incidents that led to arrests or criminal charges. Almost all were in suburban districts, and nearly every participant was white. by Nicole Carr and Lucas Waldron <[link removed]>

How Parents Outraged by Library Books, Diversity Initiatives and Sex Ed Transformed One New Jersey School Board <[link removed]> An angry parent confronted a New Jersey school board president, accelerating a chain of events that pushed the board to the right. by Nicole Carr <[link removed]>

He Became Convinced the School Board Was Pushing “Transgender Bullshit.” He Ended Up Arrested — and Emboldened. <[link removed]> Eric Jensen, a parent in North Carolina, had grievances to air about library books “trying to convert kids to gay,” and about mask and vaccine mandates. So he joined an activist group and headed to a school board meeting. by Nicole Carr <[link removed]>

The Student Protesters Were Arrested. The Man Who Got Violent in the Parking Lot Wasn’t. <[link removed]> College students arrested. A parking lot altercation. A retired teacher waking up to a broken window. Events at a school district in Conway, Arkansas, illustrate the alarming trend of unrest at school board meetings across the country. by Nicole Carr; Photography by Terra Fondriest for ProPublica <[link removed]>

More From Our Newsroom

TurboTax Parent Company’s Latest Argument Against Free Tax Filing: It Will Harm Black Taxpayers <[link removed]> Articles published around the country repeat Intuit’s assertion — sometimes almost word for word — that the upcoming IRS pilot program would hurt Black Americans. A researcher whose work is cited by Intuit says the company is misstating her findings. by Paul Kiel <[link removed]>

The Cleanup of Seattle’s Only River Could Cost Boeing and Taxpayers $1 Billion. Talks Over Who Will Pay Most Are Secret. <[link removed]> The company once described the Duwamish, one of the country’s most contaminated waterways, as “a natural collector” for its wastes. The Port of Seattle and Boeing accuse each other of failing to pay their fair shares for the cleanup. by Lulu Ramadan, The Seattle Times <[link removed]>

Massachusetts to Launch 90-Day Push to Fill Vacant State-Funded Apartments <[link removed]> The initiative follows a WBUR-ProPublica investigation that found nearly 2,300 unoccupied units, despite an enormous waitlist. by Todd Wallack, WBUR <[link removed]>

Wisconsin’s Republicans Went to Extremes in Gerrymandering. Now They’re Scrambling to Protect That Power. <[link removed]> Heavily redrawn election districts in the battleground state gave Republicans firm control of the legislature — and the leeway to move aggressively against officials and judges they perceive as threats. by Megan O’Matz <[link removed]>

Biden Administration Commits $200 Million to Help Reintroduce Salmon in Columbia River <[link removed]> Dams had blocked salmon’s passage, driving them toward extinction and violating tribal fishing rights. The money will fully fund Native tribes’ plans to bring fish back to the region. by Tony Schick, Oregon Public Broadcasting <[link removed]>

Clarence Thomas Secretly Participated in Koch Network Donor Events <[link removed]> Thomas has attended at least two Koch donor summits, putting him in the extraordinary position of having helped a political network that has brought multiple cases before the Supreme Court. by Joshua Kaplan, Justin Elliott and Alex Mierjeski <[link removed]>

The Many Times Ken Paxton Refused to Defend Texas Agencies in Court <[link removed]> The Texas attorney general said he’s “back to work” after his recent acquittal, but his office has repeatedly declined to fulfill one of its key duties: representing state agencies who are being sued. by Jessica Priest and Vianna Davila <[link removed]>

Decades-Old Trove of DNA Evidence, Collected by a Maryland Doctor, Leads to a Serial Rape Arrest <[link removed]> A ProPublica investigation highlighted a critical collection of evidence and inspired a law to preserve it. Now, that evidence has been used to charge a man with three rapes. by Catherine Rentz <[link removed]>

A Black Community in West Virginia Sues the EPA to Spur Action on Toxic Air Pollution <[link removed]> Institute, one of two majority-Black communities in the state, was left out of a regulatory effort earlier this year to tighten limits on cancer-causing chemicals. by Sarah Elbeshbishi, Mountain State Spotlight <[link removed]>

5 Documents That Helped Us Understand How Columbia Protected a Predator <[link removed]> For decades, Columbia obstetrician Robert Hadden was abusing patients. Here’s some of the evidence ProPublica reporter Bianca Fortis used to investigate how the university allowed it to happen. by Bianca Fortis <[link removed]>

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