Corvallis School Board member Brandy Fortson officially resigned Saturday, November 9, in response to the backlash over their controversial tweet, which stated “Hey kids, remember all cops are bastards.”
Fortson announced their intention to resign through a letter shared on Facebook by Cliffy Slocum. Later, officials at the School District confirmed Fortson had tendered a letter of resignation.
Fortson asserted that the tweet was taken out of context, as it was specifically directed at the Northeast Police Department of Denton County, Texas, “regarding how an arrest of a person walking home with groceries was publicly handled.”
Furthermore, Fortson stated that “I have temporarily deactivated my Facebook page and locked my Twitter account for the protection of my family. I have received numerous calls and threats, one of which was serious enough I kept my children home from school.” A tweet on Saturday indicated that police patrols had been assigned to both Fortson’s home and their children’s school.
In a statement to the Advocate, Fortson expressed regret that “the balance between First Amendment rights and my ability to protect my family got between my ability to serve the children of Corvallis,” and said that their resignation was “unfortunate, but representation shouldn’t come at the cost of my family’s safety.”
Prior to Fortson’s official resignation, the Advocate reached out to School Board Chair Sami Al-AbdRabbuh, who said that the board had not yet deliberated on the matter. A few hours later, they announced a meeting would be held the evening of November 12 to accept Fortson’s resignation and begin the process of appointing an interim member.
By Brandon Urey
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the date of Fortson’s resignation.
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