Williamson County middle schoolers arrested over threats sue district, governor

The families of two children arrested, strip-searched and placed in solitary confinement say Williamson County Schools misinterpreted statements by their children as threats of mass violence but didn't adequately investigate the cases before prosecuting them.

They are now suing the school district and Gov. Bill Lee over the arrests, which they say were a misapplication of a law passed in the wake of the Covenant School shooting that made threats against schools a "zero tolerance" offense. They are seeking a court order declaring the law's application unconstitutional and more than $300,000 in damages each.

Both arrests occurred in August 2023 after the children were accused of making threats. The families' lawyer, Larry Crain, said an investigation would have revealed neither child posed a "realistic threat." He accused the school district of "passing the buck and making snap judgments."

He called the case an example of how "bad facts make bad law."

A 'joke' that 'caused a disruption' lands student in solitary for days

One of the plaintiffs, an eighth-grade student at Page Middle School identified, was arrested on Aug. 11. A day before, a parent emailed school officials that her son overheard the eighth grader state he "had a gun in his backpack and was going to shoot somebody" and "was going to get a bomb and blow someone up."

The lawsuit states the only time the student mentioned a weapon was when recounting a lunchtime conversation he had with another student who said a family member had "a variety of guns, including AK-47’s, grenade launchers, and shotguns." Later in the day, the eighth grader discussed this conversation with other students and "jokingly commented about what this student might do."

The eighth grader said he explained the misunderstanding to a case worker at the juvenile detention center, whom the lawsuit states recommended he be released. He was held in solitary confinement and was not released until sometime after 2 p.m. Aug. 14, three days after his arrest, the lawsuit states.

He was then placed under house arrest and suspended for one year. Superintendent Jason Golden ended his suspension on Sept. 15, though, after he found the student "created a rumor of a threat of a weapon at school" that, while "intended ... as a joke," "that joke caused a disruption in school."

According to the lawsuit, school officials implied to the family that their hands were tied after the passage of the "zero-tolerance" law.

“We don’t think of you as a threat, that was never the case," the lawsuit states Principal Eric Lifsey told the family when their son was reintroduced to the school. "You can blame Governor Bill Lee," Lifsey is quoted as saying.

20-day suspension after chat message

According to the lawsuit, the parents of the other student received a call Aug. 22 at 11:39 a.m. that their eighth-grade daughter had been arrested.

The lawsuit states that the student had been talking with five friends using their "school email, chat function" and had said, "on Thursday we kill all the Mexico's." According to the lawsuit, a transcript later obtained by the parents shows the student's response was "in jest" to other students who said she looked "Mexican because of her darker complexion."

After she was arrested, she was forced to undergo a strip search at the detention center, according to the lawsuit. She was released on Aug. 23, a day later, but was subjected to a mental evaluation. She carried out a 20-day suspension at the Alternative Learning Center, which is located at the juvenile justice center.

"Had an investigation been properly done into the statements that were made or attributed to this child, it would have been ridiculous to think they were intended as a serious threat," Crain said.

While the parents are named in the lawsuit, The Tennessean is not listing their names to protect the children's identities.

Williamson County Schools said it does not comment on pending litigation so could not verify the accuracy of the allegations in the complaint. The Tennessean reached out to Gov. Bill Lee's office for comment.

Evan Mealins is the justice reporter for The Tennessean. Contact him at emealins@gannett.com or follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @EvanMealins.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Williamson Co. students arrested over threats sue district, Gov. Lee