A protest has taken place outside a school in Michigan against a school board member accused of following the QAnon conspiracy theory.
A group of students, retired teachers and other members of the local community attended the demonstration against Amy Facchinello outside Grand Blanc High School on Monday.
Facchinello, who took office in January after being elected to the Grand Blanc Board of Education in 2020 with more than 10,000 votes, is accused of being a supporter of the radical movement, which believes there exists a secret cabal of satanic pedophiles who torture and eat children, as well as a host of other falsehoods.
Her apparent Twitter account promoting a range of conspiracy theories and using QAnon phrases such as “digital soldiers” was discovered by Lucas Hartwell, a high school senior in Grand Blanc.
Facchinello was also featured in a Time magazine article entitled “QAnon Candidates Are Winning Local Elections. Can They Be Stopped?” in April.
A group of around 100 people chanted “get her out” during Monday’s demonstration, with a smaller group of counter-protesters also shouting “Amy’s here to stay” in support of Facchinello, reported MLive.
Hartwell and Patty Duffy, a retired public school teacher and professor at Mott Community College, are planning a recall attempt in August when Facchinello becomes eligible over her alleged support for QAnon.
“If people had known what she really stood for, I do not believe she would’ve been elected at all,” Hartwell told WJRT.
“What we have is a situation where someone, who is completely detached from the reality we live in, is making choices related to children’s lives and that’s something that I just cannot go on board with. It’s not something I can stand for.”
Speaking to Michigan Radio, Duffy added: “How can decisions be made when one of the persons making the decisions believes in something totally different than reality.”
Linda Cook, Facchinello’s mother, is one of those who turned up at the counter-protest in support of her daughter. Cook defended Facchinello as someone who “loves children and does the right thing,” while criticizing the high school students for not being “informed” enough.
“She has two Master’s degrees and a Bachelor’s degree …[students] should support her,” she told MLive.
Speaking to Mid-Michigan NOW, Facchinello denied that she is an advocate for QAnon and said the outrage surrounding her is just because she supports Donald Trump.
“They just want to cancel Trump supporters. That’s what I think it is,” said Facchinello. “What they’re doing is they’re calling us all QAnon conspiracy theories if we disagree with their views.”
Facchinello added that she has no plans to resign from the Board of Education.
Hartwell said the protest against her has nothing to do with “silencing her views.”
He told Mid-Michigan NOW: “This is not a Republican issue. This is not a Democrat issue. This is not a third-party issue.
“This is looking at the fact that we have a conspiracist on the school board and [looking] at the fact that this is dangerous.”
Facchinello previously said she will not resign from her role while discussing the Time article she features in during an April 26 school board meeting.
“I can assure you, all this has only reconfirmed my commitment to this position and I intend to stay right here advocating for what’s best for the parents and students,” she said, reported the Grand Blanc View. “I plan on serving out my full six-year term.”
The Grand Blanc Board of Education has been contacted for comment.
Getty Images/Robert Nickelsberg
