WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Tenn. — The Williamson County Sheriff’s Office said they are investigating after Tuesday night’s school board meeting which involved parents threatening each other over the district's new mask mandate.
Williamson County parents say they are now getting death threats and fear for the safety of their families.
Kati Wooten is a mother of three kids. Two of them go to Williamson County schools and are exempt from wearing masks for religious reasons.
“I had friends whose medical exemptions didn’t go through last year,” Wooten said. “And one of my daughters has anxiety and was chewing through her masks every day.”
She admits getting a religious exemption was easier than a medical exemption. And that’s what parents across Williamson County are doing after the new mask mandate was put in place during Tuesday night's heated board meeting.
In a video released by Williamson County, parents are seen being escorted out of the board meeting by deputies while other parents are seen being threatened and harassed in the parking lot afterward for picking sides.
The video captured the attention of President Joe Biden, who commented on it during a press conference Thursday.
"This isn't about politics, this is about keeping our children safe," Biden said.
But Wooten says, for the most part, parents at the meeting were civil.
“The news is only showing a 60-second clip of what happened,” Wooten explains.
The Williamson County Sheriff's Office says they're now investigating the meeting.
As of Thursday, 2,500 parents have filled out a religious or medical exemption for their child, which requires only a parent’s signature.
That number is in addition to the 900 mask exemptions approved for elementary school students last year. In total, roughly 3,380 mask exemptions have been filed.
Business owners in Williamson County are also advertising that they are handing out exemption forms at their office.
Wooten says regardless of their decision, she supports parents regardless of whether students wear masks.
“Some of my best friends are sending their kids to school in masks because that’s what’s best for their family,” Wooten says.
News4, a sister station in Nashville, talked with attorneys for clarification.
They say it’s difficult for schools or employers to deny a religious exemption because there’s little proof to fall back on. A Nashville doctor also says these religious exemptions take away the mask mandate.
