On Sept. 18, North Pole High School refused to let students leave the school due to an unspecified “safety threat.”
Students were held behind the doors of the school and crowded into a fish bowl-like setting near the entry. No information was given to parents about why the students were being held for nearly 20 minutes after school.
One parent, Keith Fons, was at the school to pick up his daughter and give her a ride home. He went inside with his camera to find out what was happening and why the students were being herded into the entry and not allowed to be released to their parents or guardians. He videoed the events as they unfolded.
Caution — strong language and emotionally charged content:
After Fons posted the video on Facebook and TikTok, he brought his daughter home and went back to work. Not long after he left, his daughter called him because there were several North Pole City police cars at his house.
Fons lives outside the city limits of North Pole.
Fons returned home and was arrested for assault. He was held for $500 bail, which was quickly posted. The charges were levied by a school district employee who she felt “unsafe” around Fons. The charge is a misdemeanor, Assault 4-Cause Fear Of Injury.
In recent weeks, Fons has been involved in educating the public on issues involving the school board, particularly one school board member whose wife posted a semi-nude picture of him on social media. The arrest may be retaliatory.
Around 3 p.m. in the afternoon, the school sent an email to parents to inform them about an incident that had caused a “sit tight” protocol due to a threat made by a student to a staff member. The situation was resolved and student dismissal proceeded, the email said.
After the Uvalde, Texas shooting at an elementary school, parents are worried when their children are locked inside during an uncertain dangerous situation. Read one mom’s account after she saved her kids from the Uvalde shooting, and felt that police were targeting her.
Fons’ situation was not unlike that Texas woman who just wanted to get to her two children and save them.
Fons discussed the incident on the Michael Dukes show on Sept 19. He had been already scheduled to appear on the show to discuss the Bobby Burgess photo incident and the attempts by supporters of Burgess to de-platform him on social media.
There is now a GoFundMe site set up to help Fons with his legal expenses.
North Pole High School is the school that allowed Mary Peltola to do an illegal campaign event on campus during school hours.
