{"id":657854,"date":"2021-08-18T09:23:07","date_gmt":"2021-08-18T13:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=657854"},"modified":"2021-08-18T09:23:16","modified_gmt":"2021-08-18T13:23:16","slug":"deleted-comment-from-loudoun-enemies-list-group-adds-to-evidence-that-school-board-member-misled-police","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/deleted-comment-from-loudoun-enemies-list-group-adds-to-evidence-that-school-board-member-misled-police\/","title":{"rendered":"Deleted Comment From Loudoun Enemies List Group Adds To Evidence That School Board Member Misled Police"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdeleted-comment-from-loudoun-enemies-list-group-adds-to-evidence-that-school-board-member-misled-police%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=657854&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/barts.png?w=1200&amp;h=800&amp;ixlib=react-9.0.3\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p>Loudoun County school board member Beth Barts, whose advocacy for a politicized K-12 education triggered an online crusade to \u201chack\u201d and \u201cexpose\u201d non-compliant parents in the semi-rural Virginia district, made a Facebook post which showed that she participated in the Anti-Racist Parents of Loudoun County group during a period in which she told police she did not visit it and was therefore unaware of its activities \u2014 and that post appears to have been deleted by the time police obtained the group\u2019s posts under subpoena.<\/p>\n<p>The now-infamous saga began when Barts wrote on March 12 to a private group called Anti-Racist Parents of Loudoun County that \u201cI am very concerned that this [anti-] CRT \u2018movement\u2019 for lack of a better word is gaining support.\u201d Two days prior, Barts had been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.loudountimes.com\/news\/school-board-removes-barts-from-committees-discusses-member-protocol-changes\/article_875d16bc-81bb-11eb-a6da-4fea9c8c5465.html\">stripped<\/a> of all committee assignments for aggressive behavior towards parents and colleagues. \u201cIt is difficult for me to bring attention to it without calling out specifics which may violate our code of conduct,\u201d she continued in a message around 8:30 a.m.<\/p>\n<p>Group members appeared to take this as a cue to do what she could not and assembled a list of parents who opposed coronavirus school closures or Critical Race Theory or who were simply insufficiently \u201canti-racist,\u201d sometimes including their employers, spouses, or areas of residence.<\/p>\n<p>The activists, though claiming they merely wanted to \u201ceducate\u201d people who disagreed with them, was actually paranoid that such people would see their statements at all, and was constantly on the hunt for \u201cmoles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Around 2:30 p.m. that day, group member Jen Morse, who issued the call to \u201chack\u201d and \u201cexpose\u201d parents, wrote, \u201cLike all bullies, they\u2019re scared f***ing babies. GOOD. STAY SCARED.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A screenshot shows that Barts wrote moments after: \u201cHi mole! I would have posted in here earlier if I\u2019d known it would make you all and your hateful social media outreach disappear.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Morse then responded, \u201cThey won\u2019t disappear\u2013they\u2019ll regroup and resurface. Let\u2019s get ahead of them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On March 16, The Daily Wire broke the story of the Facebook group\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/loudoun-teachers-target-parents-critical-race-theory-hacking\">doxxing campaign<\/a>, and the story included the fact that the Loudoun County sheriff\u2019s office had opened an investigation into the group because of its pledge to hack opponents.<\/p>\n<p>On March 24, detectives interviewed Barts at her home, where she said that \u201cShe went on the site and asked for advocacy to share that LCPS is not supporting critical race theory,\u201d describing her early-morning post. \u201cShe said that she did not go back on the group until the next morning,\u201d a police report says, implying that Barts\u2019s position was that she had no idea her comments had triggered a witch hunt. \u201cShe said that she does not condone making lists and would not be a part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On March 19, a search warrant had been submitted to Facebook for postings involving the group, and Facebook provided data pursuant to a search warrant on April 20 and April 26. But Barts\u2019 comment is not in the records included in a police report, implying that it was deleted by the time Facebook exported its records.<\/p>\n<p>It is unclear when the post was deleted, but records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that Barts was reminded of, and was unrepentant about, the post in question on March 22, just two days before her statements to detectives.<\/p>\n<p>That night, a resident sent Barts\u2019s now-deleted comment to the whole school board, saying \u201cI have sat on this for over a week because I was honestly afraid that this group would gather my information and do, well, I\u2019m not sure\u2026 Please look at the language. The taunting. This is not how responsible adults act. This is hateful, angry and righteous behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Barts forwarded it to school board chair Brenda Sheridan minutes later and doubled down. \u201cI am allowed to share my thoughts in private groups as long as I don\u2019t speak for the whole [board]. I made sure I had that Disclaimer. I did not give out any names or ask for anything other than help calling out false statements. I also called out hate. I am allowed to be an anti-racist in 2021 and be on the school board,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Barts did not respond to questions from The Daily Wire including whether she forgot about the afternoon post when speaking to detectives two days later and whether she deleted it after learning of the criminal investigation.<\/p>\n<p>The sheriff\u2019s office ultimately <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/loudoun-sheriff-closes-probe-into-anti-racist-group-asking-someone-to-hack-is-not-illegal\">closed the criminal investigation<\/a>, saying \u201casking someone to hack is not illegal and that we would need a furtherance of the act. At present we do not have information that anyone has been hacked.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As The Daily Wire previously reported in a story on that closure, the deleted comment is not the only evidence that Barts visited the Facebook group during the period covered by her statement to police; she also posted other comments that were present in the records subpoenaed by Facebook.<\/p>\n<p>But the timeline of when she deleted the post could also have additional implications.<\/p>\n<p>On March 23, a conservative group called the Virginia Project delivered a litigation hold letter to Barts, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ProjectVirginia\/status\/1374463461661536257\">according<\/a> to the political action committee. Virginia Project later reportedly sued an administrator of the Anti-Racist Parents group for defamation over purportedly claiming \u201cAs a matter of fact, the Virginia Project, who has been a vocal force in this, is spurring other people to threaten us. \u2026 We\u2019ve been threatened with kidnapping.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ian Prior, a local parent who was placed on the enemies list and later founded the advocacy group Fight For Schools, told The Daily Wire, \u201cWhy would Barts delete her comment? Because it unambiguously proves that she was using her official role to encourage her allies to deprive Loudoun residents of their First Amendment rights.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He pointed to a Virginia <a href=\"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/title18.2\/chapter10\/section18.2-472\/\">law<\/a> that makes it illegal for a public official to \u201cdestroy any record\u2026 in his keeping and belonging to his office\u201d under punishment of being \u201cforever incapable of holding any office of honor, profit or trust under the Constitution of Virginia.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGiven that Barts\u2019s initial post stated that she was providing her opinion <a href=\"https:\/\/documentcloud.adobe.com\/link\/track?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:8334748b-ab5c-4635-a357-b9b6dfedc30a\">as a school board member<\/a> and that opinion was on school related issues, how is her Facebook post not a record in her keeping and belonging to her office?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Related:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/loudoun-teachers-attack-parents-protected-free-speech-mulls-banning-trump-flags\">Loudoun Says Teachers Who Attack Parents Protected By Free Speech, Mulls Banning Trump Flags<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;Want more exclusive Daily Wire investigations? Become a member.&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:35329,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;12&quot;:0,&quot;14&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0},&quot;18&quot;:1}\" data-sheets-hyperlink=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe#plans\" data-sheets-hyperlinkruns=\"{&quot;1&quot;:47,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe#plans&quot;}\uee10{&quot;1&quot;:62}\"><a class=\"in-cell-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe#plans\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Want more exclusive Daily Wire investigations? <\/em><\/a><em><a class=\"in-cell-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe#plans\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Become a member<\/a><a class=\"in-cell-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe#plans\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">.<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and&nbsp;<span class=\"il\">counter<\/span>\u2013<span class=\"il\">cultural<\/span>&nbsp;outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1615934302565000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHOV8alRjqO61ImZWCRpqOILgWzkg\">member<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Loudoun County school board member Beth Barts, whose advocacy for a politicized K-12 education triggered an online crusade to \u201chack\u201d and \u201cexpose\u201d non-compliant parents in the semi-rural Virginia district, made &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-657854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=657854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/657854\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=657854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=657854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=657854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}