A suburban Philadelphia guidance counselor won't face charges for social media posts threatening "die-in" protesters outside an Eagles game earlier this month because she was upset it could keep her family from watching the game.
Central Bucks West High School's MaryKate Blankenburg was placed on leave after posting on social media against "die-in" protesters demonstrating outside the Eagles Dec. 7 Sunday Night Football game against the Seahawks.
"If my child cannot get to the Eagles game due to protesters, I will personally SHOOT every one of them. You've been warned idiots!!" is how the message allegedly posted by Blankenburg read.
The Central Bucks School District placed the Upper Gwynedd Township woman on leave with pay while prosecutors could investigate, district officials said.
Since Blankenburg lives in Montgomery County, District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman's office picked up the investigation.
"After investigation, the District Attorney has concluded that, while the posting was inappropriate and ill-advised, it was not made with the level of intent necessary to make the posting criminal in nature," read a message posted to the DA's website Wednesday.
The DA said that an "apologetic and remorseful" Blankenburg admitted to creating the controversial post that was shared across other social media platforms and acknowledged that it was inappropriate.
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Investigators found that Blankenburg had no access to a gun and had no intentions of harming anyone.
"The posting created and published by MaryKate Blankenburg does not rise to the level of a crime. The totality of the circumstances reveals that the comment made by Blankenburg was shortsighted and inappropriate, but not made with the requisite criminal intent to terrorize, alarm, harass, annoy, or otherwise cause a serious public inconvenience."
The post was focused on the 200 or so demonstrators that sought to disrupt traffic coming from the Eagles game as they protested against racism in the wake of the police-involved deaths of black men Michael Brown and Eric Garner.
Blankenburg's employment status with the district wasn't clear Wednesday as the school was on holiday break. However, she remained listed under staff on the school's website.
