Oakland elementary school cancels class due to bomb threat following email, social media harassment

Chabot Elementary School received a bomb threat Tuesday, prompting the school to cancel classes and send students home, Oaklandside reported.

The threat comes amid a social media frenzy and email harassment prompted by a right-wing social media commentator criticizing the school for trying to welcome families of color by organizing a playdate for the school’s Black, brown, Asian and Pacific Islander families, Oaklandside reported.

Chabot Elementary parent Tamisa Jackson told Oaklandside that she and other members of the school’s equity and inclusion group started receiving hateful emails on Sunday after a flyer about the play date was posted on Reddit.

Oaklandside reporters who were provided screenshots of an email sent to the group described it as including racist remarks and threatening to do harm to the group if it continued its activities.

The Oakland Police Department is investigating the bomb threat at Chabot, as well as other threats at private residences in the city. Oakland school board director Sam Davis told Oaklandside that the FBI was also involved in the investigation.