Facebook page was created to attack the JoCo school board. It’s run by a member’s son
A Johnston County school board member is facing calls for her resignation over a Facebook page operating out of her home that’s used to attack local elected officials and community members, including LGBTQ+ students.
Since late January, the Ronald Johnson’s Prison Cell Phone page, listed as a parody page on Facebook, has regularly posted barbed comments against people who helped convict Ronald Johnson, a former Johnston County school board member, on extortion and other charges earlier this year.
After accusations of cyberstalking were made by several people, including another school board member, an investigation by the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office determined the Facebook page belonged to the 21-year-old son of school board member Michelle Antoine. The investigation also determined the page was being operated at a residential IP address belonging to Michelle Antoine.
Neither Antoine nor her son has been charged with a crime.
At Tuesday’s school board meeting, multiple speakers called on Michelle Antoine to resign or for the board to reprimand her.
“I’m standing up to you and telling you today that defamatory action originating from your home cannot only have consequences for you but for the Board of Education,” former Clayton High School Principal Bennett Jones said at the board meeting.
“As such, you should do what’s pertinent and right and for once resign immediately from this board so that the district, its employees and students can move forward without the constant distractions your presence creates.”
A ‘political parody page’
In a statement Wednesday to The News & Observer, Michelle Antoine said she had nothing to do with her son’s “political parody page.” Antoine said her son, who is an adult, has many pages and groups he runs on social media.
“The Sheriff’s Office and District Attorney tried to extort and use the color of law to intimidate me into chilling the speech of my adult son when they called me in and told me to make the page go away and our names would not be released,” Antoine said in her statement. “I left the option of continuing the page up to my son, who made the decision that his protected speech should not be infringed..”
Johnston County District Attorney Susan Doyle and the Sheriff’s Office did not return a request for comment Wednesday from The N&O about Antoine’s allegations.
‘Insufficient evidence’ to prosecute case
Police records show several people, including school board member Kevin Donovan, filed a report with the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office alleging they were being cyberstalked.
One of the definitions of cyberstalking in state law is “electronically communicate to another repeatedly, whether or not conversation ensues, for the purpose of abusing, annoying, threatening, terrifying, harassing, or embarrassing any person.”
“Evidence received from Facebook legal processes indicate that a Facebook page belonging to (Michelle Antoine’s son) is operating the reported Facebook page from a residential IP Address belonging to Michelle Antoine,” Detective B. Allen tells the complainants in an email.
Allen said the evidence was turned over to Special Prosecutor Boz Zellinger, who was consulted at the request of the Johnston County District Attorney’s Office.
Zellinger prosecuted Johnson’s criminal case.
“After review of the evidence provided to Mr. Zellinger, he advised that there is insufficient evidence to prove a violation of the cyberstalking statute, or any other North Carolina criminal statute beyond a reasonable doubt, due to First Amendment rights,” Allen said.
In her statement, Michelle Antoine said the District Attorney’s Office and Sheriff’s Office “executed an unlawful search warrant where no crime existed.”
Political ally of convicted board member
Antoine was first elected to the school board in 2022 and became its most conservative member. Antoine and Johnson were political allies who have campaigned for each other, including in last fall’s election when Johnson was re-elected while under criminal indictment.
Antoine testified in Johnson’s defense during the extortion trial.
In January, Johnson was convicted of multiple charges, including threatening to release a damaging recording to blackmail a congressional candidate. Johnson was sentenced to 6 to 17 months in prison and removed from the school board.
Johnson is currently at the Craggy Correctional Institute near Asheville.
Facebook page goes after Johnson’s opponents
A week after Johnson’s conviction, the Ronald Johnson’s Prison Cell Phone Facebook page was created and began posting content.
Two of the frequent targets of the page have been Doyle and Donovan, who both testified against Johnson. Doyle had referred Johnson’s case to the state Attorney General’s Office for prosecution.
In one poll, the Facebook account asks readers to respond to the question asking what Doyle and Donovan have in common. Choices included attacks on personal appearances.
Donovan, who received an immunity deal for his testimony, did not respond to an email Wednesday from The N&O requesting comment.
The Facebook page’s posts include anti-LGBTQ+ statements and what appear to be derogatory private messages from Donovan.
Other targets of the Facebook page have been school board chair Lyn Andrews, who testified against Johnson, and Jones, the former Clayton High School principal who also testified against Johnson.
Andrews did not respond to an email Wednesday from The N&O requesting comment.
Jones ended his speech at the school board meeting Tuesday by making fun of himself in response to how the Facebook account has frequently commented about his weight. The Facebook page responded with more comments about Jones’ physical appearance.
Speakers call for Antoine to resign
Some speakers told the school board on Tuesday that Antoine should face some consequences over the Facebook account.
“I won’t even repeat the vile, sexually inappropriate remarks you and whomever you associate with have made recently under a fake Facebook profile because my kindergartner is in the audience,” said Erika Hall, a Johnston County parent. “The fact that you sit behind this horseshoe using your position as a platform to spread hateful rhetoric is disgraceful.”
Hall said she hopes Antoine resigns “before your words and actions cause irreparable harm.”
Christine Livingston brought up how Antoine was accused in 2023 by school board attorneys of violating board policy by making “unsupported” accusations that a teacher was called “Ms. Drunky.” The teacher Antoine accused was one of Johnson’s former mistresses and the star prosecution witness in the criminal trial.
“Allowing such behavior to go unchecked sends a dangerous precedent and threatens the integrity of our educational environment,” said Livingston, a frequent target of the Facebook account. “We cannot afford to let the actions of one individual compromise the values that we hold dear as a community. I urge the board to take immediate action and investigate this matter thoroughly and hold Antoine accountable.”
Antoine promises lawsuit over release of names
In her statement, Antoine accused the District Attorney’s Office and Sheriff’s Office of violating the 1st, 4th and 14th Amendment rights of her and her son by releasing their names.
Antoine said her son has been doxxed online with his work, school and home locations being released. Antoine said the “unlawful release of my name” led to a Sheriff’s deputy escorting her to her vehicle due to the “vitriolic and threatening” crowd at Tuesday’s school board meeting.
“The government does not have the right to infringe speech they dislike,” Antoine said. “They do not have the right to intimidate and use the threat of law to chill speech, or to take away anonymity in speech.
“This parody page is a highly protected form of political speech. The egregious actions by the Johnston County Sheriff’s Department and local District Attorney leave question to their integrity and fairness for the average citizen, if they are so bold to do this to an elected official.”
A civil rights lawsuit is forthcoming, according to Antoine. She had sued the school board in 2023 to try to prevent the release of the report that had accused her of violating board policy.
This story was originally published March 12, 2025 at 6:36 PM with the headline "Facebook page was created to attack the JoCo school board. It’s run by a member’s son."
