Thread by @LivColemanFL

Want to know some of the deeper political forces behind the disturbances at so many #Florida school board meetings about masks & COVID? Read my thread & this @JRMcKinnon story 👇 /1

https://twitter.com/JRMcKinnon/status/1430853087707680774

In December 2020, @sarasotaschools member Bridget Ziegler & two former school board members elsewhere created "Moms for Liberty" group for "parental rights" using new FL Parents' Bill of Rights, as @JRMcKinnon explains. It spurred anti-mask protests. /2

heraldtribune.com/story/news/edu…

.@sarasotaschools board member Bridget Ziegler's husband is @SRQCountyGov Commissioner & #Florida @GOP Vice Chair who was in DC for Big Lie Stop the Steal rallies on January 6. /3

wfla.com/news/sarasota-…

Ziegler is no longer member of Moms for Liberty. Sarasota chapter was founded by local mom & activist Alexis Spiegelman, according to @JRMcKinnon in the #Sarasota @HeraldTribune /4

heraldtribune.com/story/news/edu…

#Sarasota Moms for Liberty founder Spiegelman was also involved in January 6 activism, including organizing a demonstration outside @SenRickScott's #Naples, FL home to urge him to decertify the 2020 presidential election results /5

https://twitter.com/indivisible_brd/status/1430890898393501702

Nationally, #LongboatKey homeowner & #SarasotaSeditionSquad member Charlie Kirk of TPUSA created a “School Board Watchlist,” which maintains database of board members & seems to encourage rowdy protests /6

https://twitter.com/ItsDocumented/status/1428826952383795202

#NeverForget that Charlie Kirk, whose main mission is anti-higher ed activism, wanted college campuses closed due to COVID in 2020 so that it would lower youth voter turnout. He does not operate in good faith, to say the least. /7

https://twitter.com/LivColemanFL/status/1350893639975616512

.@ProjectLincoln highlighted #FL16 Congressional candidate Martin Hyde bellowing at a local Sarasota school board meeting in a clip of anti-masker school board ruckuses across the country /8

https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1430666548402921480

Sarasota Congressional candidate Martin Hyde was outside the US Capitol on Jan. 6 & spoke at a rally for #Englewood, Sarasota resident Mike Flynn & Roger Stone, a frequent Sarasota visitor, in #Bradenton in April 2021 /9

heraldtribune.com/story/news/pol…

There's also a Polk County, FL-based organization, County Citizens Defending Freedom, that is linked to Mike Flynn, Charlie Kirk, & which promotes MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell of Big Lie fame. They fight for same kind of school anti-masking issues. /10
ccdfusa.com

What's actually happening in Florida with COVID-19 right now? The state is a mess & we're struggling. As FL State Rep. @AndrewLearned notes, you don't need to have formal lockdowns for your business to suffer impact of COVID. cc: @FlChamber /11

https://twitter.com/AndrewLearned/status/1430853756363608068

.@sarasotaschools & @Manateeschools already have nearly as many & more COVID cases, respectively, just since school opened than the entire last year. /12

https://twitter.com/JRMcKinnon/status/1430994862841675778

#Florida morgues are running out of space due to the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations & deaths per day. We've never had so many before in the pandemic. /13

people.com/health/florida…

Authorities are asking residents in Hillsborough & Orange Counties in Florida to conserve water due to a shortage of liquid oxygen needed for COVID-19 patients /14

https://twitter.com/TB_Times/status/1430703186004877314

The time has long past to put aside school board circuses, get fully vaxxed & masked up (for now) to beat this thing, & for @GovRonDeSantis to declare a state of emergency to get federal help, as @NikkiFriedFL suggested.

Everyone knows someone affected.

floridaphoenix.com/2021/08/16/nik…