School board member references QAnon in tweet against vaccine mandate
Clark County School Board member Katie Williams criticized a proposed employee vaccination mandate Friday and over the weekend on Twitter, including one post that included a hashtag that has been associated with the QAnon conspiracy theory.
The post was later deleted.
The School Board meets at 5 p.m. Wednesday to consider a proposed COVID-19 vaccination mandate for employees.
In a screenshot of the since-deleted post circulated on Twitter, Williams wrote: “I’m just saying … they can’t fire 42,000 employees. #CCSD #WWG1WGA.” The latter has been associated with the QAnon conspiracy theory and is shorthand for “Where we go one, we go all.”
In a separate post on Saturday, she wrote: “Under advisement (of) the board attorney, I will limit expressing my opinion on mandatory vaccines while an agenda item is posted on board docs. As an elected official I still believe in making your voice heard and expressing your opinions on issues brought by the district.”
She encouraged people to email trustees and “express to them what you are feeling.”
Williams didn’t respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Board President Linda Cavazos said she was aware of Williams’ posts on Twitter, including one with the hashtag that has been associated with the QAnon.
She said there are internal board processes with incremental steps to address situations that may arise with board members, but noted she can’t comment on anything confidential.
Some of Williams’ posts about the proposed vaccination mandate still appear on her Twitter page.
On Friday, Williams shared a news reporter’s post with a screenshot of online meeting materials and wrote: “If there was ever a public comment to submit … Lord this is it. As government employees for the Department of Education you do indeed fall under a different set of rules. However, I believe in this case there should be a choice and an at length discussion.”
In a separate post that day, she wrote: “Remember you as the majority have the opportunity to swing this one way or the other. If this passes for employees, which group of students do you think will be first? Once the teachers have it throughout the state, who do you think they’ll mandate next.”
Williams, who took office in January, has previously been accused of having affiliations with the local Proud Boys and QAnon, the Review-Journal reported in May.
She was also mentioned in an April article in Time magazine on people who have promoted QAnon and won local elections.
Williams told the Review-Journal this spring she has denounced QAnon and the Proud Boys, and previously received a threat from the local Proud Boys to recall her from office.
Contact Julie Wootton-Greener at jgreener@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2921. Follow @julieswootton on Twitter.