"Twitter fingers to trigger fingers:" Racially-charged post leads to discipline for GRHS students
RICHMOND, Texas (KTRK) -- At least five George Ranch High School students are facing disciplinary action after a picture of three of them on campus waving Confederate and Donald Trump flags was posted to social media along with a threatening caption.
The picture was posted to Snapchat. It's unclear when a caption was added to it, but that text reads "All my brothers n [sic] sisters of African descent. Now is the day to prove urself [sic]. Let these twitter fingers turn to trigger fingers."
"About the trigger fingers, which was very alarming, are they talking about guns? Bringing guns to school? Or is it just trying to get attention or what is really going on?" said one mother who asked us not to use her name. She witnessed the teens this morning in the parking lot as she dropped her daughter off at the school. "I feel like it was a terroristic threat against the African American students at our school,' she said.
The mother of the teen seen holding the Trump flag says the post is not what it seems.
"This has been twisted. The facts have been twisted and I wanted everybody to know that," she said. She asked us not to identify her as she, her family and the other teens in the picture have all received death threats since the incident.
Her son is a junior at George Ranch.
"These were not our son's words, nor were [sic] our son's intent for anything to be said like this. Our family doesn't stand for this. This is not who we are," she said.
She tells Eyewitness News she has spoken with the person who posted the original picture to Snapchat and that student claims the picture was placed without any caption. It's not clear who added the caption.
Despite what you see, she says if you knew her and knew them, you'd know they are not racist.
"My youngest son is... partially Hispanic so our older sons do not judge. We are a biracial family so we are not one to judge anybody else," she said. She called this is a "learning moment" for the teens.
Lamar Consolidated ISD says the students with the flags made a "poor" decision and that they're facing appropriate consequences for disrupting school.
Dr. Fred Black, principal at George Ranch High School wrote in an email to parents: "Please know that the safety of your children, our staff and all visitors will always be our first priority."
An LCISD spokesperson says the three students seen on the truck face discipline due to the parking lot demonstration. Two additional students face discipline due to the social media posts.
LCISD adds that it has assigned extra police on campus as a result of this incident.
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