ENUMCLAW, Wash. — The Enumclaw Police Department is investigating a possible hate crime after two people on Zoom interrupted a school board meeting with racial slurs.
The Enumclaw School District was having its regular school board meeting last Monday, which was a hybrid in-person and Zoom video meeting. According to police, two zoom attendees interrupted the meeting, repeatedly using a racial slur.
The Enumclaw School District said one of the individuals displayed a photo of George Floyd. The other appeared to be an elderly white male.
Police are investigating it as an intentional hate crime and said they are weighing additional law violations for disturbing a school meeting and disorderly conduct.
It’s a tricky investigation because people can hide behind anonymous IP addresses, the unique addresses that could identify someone’s home computer, for example. Investigators say they are working with county specialists and may use search warrants to capture data.
“It certainly takes a lot of time, we’re really asking for the public’s understanding that this requires diligence, it requires a great amount of time and effort on the part of our detectives, but it’s something that they’re not going to stop, and they’re going to continue to dig and dig,” said Commander Mike Graddon.
He said because two people were involved, it was likely a coordinated attack.
“The actions during the last board meeting will not be tolerated. It remains the goal of the district and the board to ensure ALL feel safe, welcomed, respected, and valued within our schools and our communities. Let it be clear, hate has no home here,” the district said in a statement.
The school district said from now on people who want to address the board must do so in person.