After being approached by reporters about tweets calling for the murders of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, a far-right Republican candidate aiming to head public schools in North Carolina denounced “extreme agendas that threaten our children’s future”.
“Don’t let extreme agendas threaten our children’s future,” Michele Morrow said on social media on Thursday, publishing a message in which she stated she was “facing the most radical extremist Democrats [that] have ever run for superintendent in the history of North Carolina.”
However, Morrow, who is running for superintendent of public instruction, had to reply to a CNN crew who questioned her with posts discovered by the same network in which she supported violence against prominent Democrats.
Morrow’s comments between 2019 and 2021, as reported by CNN, included a May 2020 tweet in which he stated that Obama should be the topic of “a pay-per-view of him in front of a firing squad,” adding, “I do not want to waste another penny on sustaining his life. We could make some money by televising his death.”
In December 2020, when Biden, as president-elect, claimed he would urge Americans to wear masks against Covid-19 for 100 days, Morrow, a nurse, wrote, “Never. We must fulfill the constitution’s instructions and KILL ALL TRAITORS!!!”
Other Democrats who Morrow said should be executed, according to CNN, included Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, former first lady, senator, secretary of state, and presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, and New York senator Chuck Schumer.
Morrow also called for the executions of Anthony Fauci, Donald Trump’s senior public health adviser during the Covid epidemic, and Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder and vaccine advocate.
She also advocated slogans and statements related to the QAnon conspiracy theory.
Morrow initially replied to the article by saying, “According to [CNN], Obama’s drone attacks on hundreds of innocent Muslims in Yemen are not treasonous.” The lunacy of the media highlights the importance of teaching K-12 pupils actual history and critical thinking skills.”
On Thursday, CNN aired footage of a parking-lot altercation between Morrow and its correspondent Shimon Prokupecz.
Prokupecz was responding to the question: “Do you still stand by your comments about former president Barack Obama and that he should be executed, calling for the death of other presidents, do you stand by that?”
Morrow constantly stated, “No comment.” She said that she was “focused on helping the families of North Carolina, for their children to get quality education, for them to be safe, and for us to be sure that our money is going into the classroom rather than bureaucracies” .
When asked about her tweets demanding the killing of famous Democrats, Morrow responded: “How do you know those are my words?”
Prokupecz responded: “Because you tweeted. Aren’t those your tweets?
Morrow stated that she merely wanted to “discuss education”.
Morrow complained in a video shared to social media on Thursday that three CNN reporters from New York City had been on his street for the past 48 hours, observing my every move. They have been stalking me and my family.”
The North Carolina public school system serves 1.3 million students. The North Carolina superintendent contest is expected to draw national attention as the Republican right makes many attempts to seize control of public education.
Mo Green, the Democratic contender, is a former county superintendent and the executive director of a public education organization.
Morrow, a “lifelong Christian conservative” who homeschools her children, has previously received support from Moms for Liberty, a nationwide right-wing lobbying group. In the Republican primary, she upset the incumbent superintendent.
According to local media, Morrow was at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, when Trump supporters attacked Congress in an attempt to keep him in power.
Speaking with the Raleigh News & Observer, she recalled seeing rioters attempting to shatter a window and imploring them to stop.
“I was frustrated and disgusted when I found people had broken in,” she went on to say. “I felt it was so immature and was not going to solve anything.”
When asked about the January 6 Capitol attack, Morrow told Axios that his concentration on scholastics helped him win the campaign. We want to concentrate on mathematics, reading, and science. And I believe that’s what North Carolina companies expect us to do.”
Morrow stated on Thursday that the CNN team who questioned her were “trying to interfere in the 2024 election, just like they did in the 2020 election”.