A Florida woman, Brandie Covington, 40, is facing charges for allegedly threatening to destroy a local high school over a dispute involving her daughter’s boyfriend’s school lunch. The incident reportedly occurred on a Tuesday morning, after the school day had commenced at Rockledge High School in Rockledge, Florida.
Around 10:50 a.m., Covington called the school’s cafeteria, expressing her anger over her daughter’s boyfriend’s school-provided lunch being taken away due to insufficient funds in his account, according to an arrest affidavit. The cafeteria employee attempted to explain the school’s policy regarding situations when a student’s lunch account runs out of funds, but Covington allegedly responded with anger and threats.
Despite the employee’s efforts to defuse the situation, Covington allegedly escalated her threats, stating she would “burn the school down” and later adding that she would “blow the school up.” The cafeteria worker promptly ended the call and reported the threat to the school’s resource officer.
Shortly after the initial call, Covington reportedly made another threatening call, this time to the school’s vice principal. She allegedly reiterated her frustration over her daughter’s boyfriend not receiving his lunch due to insufficient funds. The vice principal attempted to explain the school’s policy, but Covington allegedly responded with more threats before ending the call.
The school resource officer was informed of the second call, and investigators arrived at Covington’s residence approximately three hours later. After being read her Miranda rights, Covington acknowledged making the calls to the school regarding her daughter’s boyfriend’s lunch situation. She reportedly expressed her anger over the situation, stating she had previously called the school and was told someone would return her call, but no one did.
While Covington’s account of the events was largely consistent with the accounts of the cafeteria worker and vice principal, she denied making any threats against the school. Despite her denial, Covington was arrested and booked into the Brevard County Jail. She was later released on a $75,000 bond.