Ellen Ochoa Elementary Bomb Threats

On August 23 2023, amid yet another wave of threats directed at public institutions such as schools and libraries, KFOR reporter Kaylee Olivas tweeted about “yet another” bomb threat at Ellen Ochoa Elementary school in Tulsa, Oklahoma:

Olivas tweeted that “yet another bomb threat” was aimed at Ellen Ochoa Elementary, “because of a social media post made by a librarian … taken out of context” on social media. An email screenshot had a timestamp of 8:44 AM, and it read:

[Sender] Yesyy

We placed a bomb at Ellen Ochoa Elementary [address] and inside the Residence of Kirby Maczkenzie [redacted.]

You will stop pushing this woke ideology or we will bomb every school in the union district.

On August 22 2023, KOKI-TV published a previous article (“Bomb threat investigation at Union elementary school due to altered social media post”), reporting an initial bomb threat against Ellen Ochoa Elementary on August 22 2023. (KTUL also covered the incident.)

The [school] district said the bomb threat appeared to be in retaliation of a librarian’s public post on TikTok.

The district confirmed the librarian’s original post on the social media app didn’t violate any school policy. However, an altered version of the video was posted by the Twitter account “Libs of TikTok”, known for its far right and anti LGBTQ posts, which prompted the police response. The altered post was also retweeted by State Superintendent Ryan Walters.

KOKI-TV reported Chaya Raichik’s “Libs of TikTok” had promulgated misleading claims about a school librarian there, prompting the threat. Raichik and Libs of TikTok were the subject of an Anti-Defamation League (ADL) entry, and it explained that Raichik frequently removed context from content in order to direct violence towards individuals and institutions:

Libs of TikTok is a popular anti-LGBTQ+ twitter account operated by former real estate agent Chaya Raichik. The account, which [had] over 1.3 million followers as of August 2022, attempts to generate outrage and stoke anti-LGBTQ+ hostility by reposting selected out-of-context social media content created by LGBTQ+ people and liberals. The individuals, events and organizations targeted by the account are frequent targets of harassment, threats and violence.

On August 23 2023, KTUL published an article we initially mistook for the one published on the previous day. It reported a second bomb threat:

Tulsa Police Department is responding to a second bomb threat at Ochoa Elementary School on Wednesday [August 23 2023] at 8:53 a.m.

This second bomb threat came a day after the elementary school received a bomb threat on Tuesday morning [August 22 2023].

Union Public Schools Communications Director Chris Payne says the threats are related to a TikTok video posted [about] a librarian at Union schools.

KOTV also reported on the second bomb threat on that day, adding that Oklahoma’s State Superintendent promoted the Libs of TikTok tweet in question:

Raichik responded to her own tweet, tagging the district targeted to direct threats:

In a statement published by KOTV, Ellen Ochoa Elementary Principal Shana Harris acknowledged a delayed start on the day of the second bomb threat. Harris also indicated that the “Tulsa Police Department are working to identify the source of the threat.”