Parents confronted a Virginia school board member who compared Turning Point USA (TPUSA) to the Ku Klux Klan in an unsurfaced video from an Oct. 9 public meeting that turned rowdy at times.
School board member Allison Vick Spillman criticized Albemarle County Public Schools in Virginia for allowing the TPUSA chapter at Western Albemarle High School to host a speaker discussing sex changes during a lunchtime meeting in the posting on her personal Facebook account, saying she was “beyond livid” as a “proud parent of a trans student.” Spillman delivered remarks at the start of the school board meeting, claiming she was the victim of “harassment” before parents confronted her during the public comment session.
“This has been a difficult week for me, for students, for families and for our school community. I want to take a moment to share what happened and sorry, and what I will do going forward,” Spillman claimed as she appeared to choke back a sob. “Last week I did make a Facebook post on my personal and private account. I expressed my concerns about a speaker invited to Western Albemarle High School and within hours, someone screenshot my post and shared it with media outlets and political organizations. What followed was a coordinated campaign of harassment and intimidation and it was terrifying.”
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“I did not intend to equate the WAS TPUSA member students with the KKK and I realize that that is how it was interpreted by many,” Spillman added.
The speaker, Family Foundation of Virginia President Victoria Cobb, was initially disinvited before legal counsel got involved, according to Virginia-based CBS19News. Spillman made her post less than three weeks after the Sept. 10 assassination of TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, during which he was debating attendees on multiple issues, including those involving transgenderism.
“From the start, the club has welcomed speakers like former Congressman Bob Good and TPUSA influencer Isabelle Brown, encouraging students, including those with opposing views, to think critically, ask questions, and share their perspectives,” Tavis Coffin told the school board before detailing the “organized opposition” the TPUSA chapter faced.
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TPUSA chapters in high schools and colleges across the country have faced violent efforts to disrupt them. The TPUSA chapter at Lee’s Summit West High School in Missouri planned to hold a meeting in May 2022, but left-wing students derailed the meeting and overturned a glass table, according to a release by the organization.
Officials at Royal Oak High School in Michigan approved the formation of a TPUSA chapter on Oct. 21, according to Fox News, prompting protests from left-wing students and groups, including a walkout. One liberal women started crying after claiming during a Thursday school board meeting that the group’s presence could lead to “radicalization” of students.
“Last spring, I had the privilege to volunteer at a Turning Point meeting where guest speaker Isabelle Brown spoke to over 120 students on the sensitive topic of abortion. She was knowledgeable, engaging and connected well with the students. I saw Western [Albemarle High School] students actively engage in civil discourse with the speaker and with one another,” Kelly Coffin, the mother of a founding member of the high school’s TPUSA chapter, said. “I left that meeting feeling encouraged by the Turning Point chapter and the environment that they had created promoting freedom of speech and civil discourse in our school.”
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“In stark contrast, a school board member has shown that she believes that free speech is for some, not for all, and she has elevated the rights of some students above others. In recent weeks, this school board member likened my son, members of the Turning Point club, and a scheduled guest speaker to the Ku Klux Klan,” Coffin continued.
Another speaker at the meeting contrasted violent rhetoric from Democratic Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger of Virginia and Democratic Attorney General-elect Jay Jones of Virginia in her remarks to the conduct of the TPUSA chapter.
“An elected school board member distinctly and publicly compares young, engaged students who want to exchange ideas freely to the KKK my grandfather fought,” Sheila Bird told the board.
The high school TPUSA chapter’s faculty advisor, Michelle Karpovich, also addressed the school board about Spillman’s comments, but was interrupted by left-wing protesters attending the meeting who held up signs.
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“Equating a speaker presenting a widely held biology-based perspective on gender with a historically violent hate group is a reckless misuse of language,” Karpovich said after the left-wing protests forced a recess. “It undermines the values of respect, inclusivity, and open dialogue that our schools must uphold. Beyond the hurtful nature of Miss Spillman’s words, her post shows contempt and prejudice toward constituents with differing views.”
“It reflects a mindset unwilling to engage respectfully or represent the full diversity of our community,” Karpovich continued, before calling for Spillman to resign.
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