A school teacher from Michigan has been arrested and charged for making fake bomb threats so she could start her Christmas break earlier. Johnna Rhone, who works as an art teacher for young students at the Jefferson Middle School, was arraigned in court on Monday for making a false report and creating a terrorism threat.
Officials from the Lakeview Public Schools confirmed that Rhone left three notes for her co-teachers, including one that implied she was trying to close down the school. One of the notes apparently indicated that they need to "start break early" or there would be a bomb going off.
Despite her threats, however, Jefferson Middle School did not send the kids and the staff home. It comes as school officials have been high on alert after the Oxford High School shooting in late November.
Rhone to Plead 'Not Guilty'
Following her fake bomb threats, Rhone was placed under police custody while the authorities searched her house. The police didn't find any weapons and the teacher denied that she attempted to make copycat threats.
Rhone is the first adult to be questioned for this incident. According to reports, the police and school officials have received hundreds of fake bomb threats since the Oxford High School incident but they were mostly done by kids. Macomb County Prosecutor Pete Lucido told reporters that he cannot give the exact reason as to why some adult, who has been supervising kids, would do this but he guessed the teacher likely wanted to have the day off earlier or she could be in need of help.
Attorney Andrew Leone said that Rhone has never had a criminal record and will plead not guilty to the charges. She could be placed under house arrest after paying a bond of $75,000. The court has also asked the teacher to undergo a psychological test and she has been ordered not to contact anyone in the school.
Leone, however, said that his client appears to be shocked by the accusations. When asked if her notes were misunderstood or misinterpreted, Lucido said that only the teacher could answer this question in court. Her hearing is scheduled for February 1.
Rhone has worked as a teacher for 21 years and is licensed to practice school administration. Prior to this incident, the school district has never had complaints about her from her co-workers, the students or their parents. Her reviews have always been positive.
150 Threats to School in One Week
According to Campus Safety, schools across the U.S. received over 150 threats in the first week after the Oxford High School shooting in Michigan. Prior to this, schools nationwide also got the same number of threats for the month of September.
Trigger more concerns is an alleged viral challenge on TikTok, which has encouraged kids to make threats of violence against their school to force its closure. According to the experts, kids participate in these activities to gain attention and notoriety, however, some are in real mental health distress which has been made worse by the isolation during the pandemic.
Research shows that when mental health distress remains undiagnosed, unrecognized or untreated, some turn to violence as a form of release. More than 80 percent of mass shooters exhibit some form of distress before they launched the attacks, such as agitation, abusive behavior, isolation, depression, mood swings and paranoia.
