St. Cloud School Board Member Apologizes for Profanity Laced Social Media Post Blasting ICE, President Trump and Trump Voters

(KNSI) — A St. Cloud School Board member is apologizing for a profanity-laden social media post criticizing federal immigration enforcement operations and President Donald Trump, saying her emotions as a concerned mother overtook her judgment as a community leader.

In the now-deleted post, which included profanity directed at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, President Trump, and Trump voters, Natalie Copeland expressed anger over what she described as ICE operations affecting students. She wrote that her daughter was unable to focus on a forensics test, asking, “how can her brain think in fight, flight or freeze mode?” She added students were “on high alert,” and were planning to activate car alarms as a warning system if ICE arrived on campus.

In her apology, Copeland said she posted it “as a mother who was afraid for her child, and in that moment my emotions came through in a way that does not reflect how I strive to communicate, especially as a community leader. I have since removed the post, but I understand the impact has already been felt.”

St. Cloud Area School District 742 addressed the post on social media Monday evening, stating it was “aware of a social media post by an individual member of the School Board.” The district emphasized that “Board members are elected officials who serve as part of the District’s governing body; however, this post was made in the individual’s personal capacity and does not reflect the views or positions of the School District or the School Board as a governing body.”

The district added that individual board members “manage their own personal social media accounts, which are not directed or overseen by the District,” and said its focus “remains on supporting students and staff by maintaining a safe, welcoming, and respectful learning environment and carrying out our work in a professional, nonpartisan manner in alignment with District policy and applicable law.”

Copeland also serves as Executive Director for the Local Education and Activities Foundation, or LEAF. LEAF is a separate organization that serves as the fundraising arm for the district and promotes initiatives including child literacy programs, math skills development, and the Adopt a Classroom project that helps teachers fund classroom needs. LEAF also manages endowment funds to provide supplemental funding for academics, activities, arts and athletics.

KNSI News received a tip Monday afternoon saying ICE was on the campus of South Junior High and that agents were not being allowed in the building, students were not being let out of the building and parents were not allowed to pick up their kids. KNSI reached out to district officials, who said agents were on a street nearby, but were not at the school and were not impeding school operations.

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