NC GOP candidate calls for ‘war,’ ‘American Revolution 2.0.’ What did she mean?
Michele Morrow, the Republican nominee for state superintendent of public schools, is denying she’s calling for violence if she loses the election.
In a Sept. 30 email, Morrow told her supporters “this is the American Revolution 2.0,” “we either willingly fight now, or we will be forced to fight on Nov 6th” and “this is war.” On Friday, Morrow accused the media of falling for Democratic opponent Mo Green’s “distraction campaign” to “silence her.”
“It is ridiculous to imply that I am calling for an armed revolution,” Morrow said at a news conference Friday outside of the Cary Senior Center, where early voting is taking place. “What I’m actually doing is trying as hard as I possibly can to undo the damage that has been done to our young people in North Carolina.”
Green has cited the Sept. 30 statements to say, “Advocating for violence is not new for Michele Morrow.”
Green is the former superintendent of Guilford County Schools, the state’s third-largest school district. He is the former executive director of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, a group that funds progressive causes.
Morrow is a registered nurse, conservative activist, homeschool parent and former Christian missionary. Morrow defeated incumbent Superintendent Catherine Truitt in the March GOP primary.
‘American Revolution 2.0’
Morrow had been urging people to join her and local pastor John Amanchukwu at the Oct. 1 Wake County school board meeting. She told supporters that it would be “the greatest ‘commercial’ for our campaign and it is FREE!”
Amanchukwu gave a speech accusing the district of giving students at Athens Drive High School a pornographic reading assignment. He was escorted from the board meeting in handcuffs when he refused to leave the podium after his time ran out.
“This is the American Revolution 2.0!” Morrow said in the Sept. 30 email. “We either willingly fight now, or we will be forced to fight on Nov 6th. This is war, ladies and gentlemen! Which side of history will you be on?”
Nov. 6 is the day after the election.
During the Friday news conference, Morrow said her statement about fighting on Nov. 6th if she lost was “just hyperbolic.” Morrow said she meant that they’d have to work even harder because she said Green would not put children first.
Morrow reiterated her charge that public schools are trying to indoctrinate students.
“If you just want to double down on the activism in our classrooms, if you’re OK with that, then by all means vote for my opponent,” Morrow said. “But if you want serious change, if you want to get back to where the students and teachers can’t wait to get to school in the morning. If you want our children to actually learn how to think rather than be told what to think … then I say vote for me because you’re going to get some change.”
Morrow’s ‘dangerous and divisive rhetoric’
Green pointed Friday to how Morrow’s past social media posts have talked about killing Democrats such as former President Barack Obama and Gov. Roy Cooper.
Green also pointed to how Morrow protested outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 and recorded a video that night encouraging President Donald Trump to use the military to stay in power.
“Now, as a candidate for North Carolina Superintendent of Public Instruction, she’s repeating the same divisive and dangerous rhetoric ahead of the 2024 election,” Green said in a statement. “Our children deserve leaders who will unite us and foster a safe, productive learning environment, not someone who calls for political violence over and over again.”
Green has cited Morrow’s past statements in campaign ads.
Morrow attacks the media
On Friday, Morrow attacked both Green and the media. She reiterated her charge that Green is too extreme because the Z. Smith Reynolds funded groups that supported causes like Black Lives Matter.
“Why have you been negligent in not looking into my opponent’s history of funding violent chaos and assault on our North Carolina police officers?” Morrow said. “Why have you turned a blind eye to his dangerous rhetoric that is fueling an attack of vicious slurs and actual death threats against me?”
Moore accused the media of focusing on her past statements instead of the academic and safety problems in schools. For instance, despite the extensive media coverage, she accused the media of not giving much attention to last November’s fatal stabbing of a student at Southeast Raleigh High or the spate of suicides at N.C. State over the past 18 months.
“In fact, right down the road, you had a student stabbed to death in the gym and the story barely made the 6 o’clock news,” Morrow claimed.
Morrow claimed students are in danger, pointing to how some schools now have Narcan doses in case there’s an opioid overdose on campus.
“I’m sorry if the words offend people,” Morrow said. “I am more offended by our children being at risk and the adults doing nothing.”
This story was originally published October 18, 2024 at 1:03 PM with the headline "NC GOP candidate calls for ‘war,’ ‘American Revolution 2.0.’ What did she mean?."
