A Virginia mother was charged after she threatened to bring loaded guns during school board meeting over mask mandates

• Police charged a Virginia woman with making a threat on school property last week.
• Amelia Ruffner King threatened to bring "every single gun loaded and ready" during a school board meeting.

A Virginia mother who threatened to bring loaded guns during a contentious school board meeting last week has been charged in the incident, according to local officials.

In a Facebook statement posted on Friday, the Luray Police Department announced that Amelia Ruffner King, 42, was charged with making an oral threat while on school property.

King made the comments during a Page County Public Schools board meeting on Thursday, ahead of the board's vote on whether to continue requiring face masks in schools. The vote followed a controversial executive order from the state's newly inaugurated Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin, which rendered face coverings optional in public schools.

"My child, my children will not come to school on Monday with a mask on, alright, that's not happening," King said during the meeting, which was also livestreamed on YouTube.

"And I will bring every single gun loaded and ready to — I will call every —" King continued to say before a board member cut her off, telling her she had used her allotted three minutes to speak.

Before leaving the room, King said, "I'll see you all on Monday."

In an initial statement on Friday, the Luray Police Department said King "immediately" called the department and apologized, telling officials her "statement was not intended the way it was perceived."

Later that evening, the department announced that King had been charged in the incident. Authorities said King was released on a $5,000 unsecured bond.

Neither King nor the Luray Police Department immediately responded to Insider's request for further comment on Monday.

Megan Gordon, the chair of the school board, and Division Superintendent Antonia Fox, issued a joint statement on Friday, alerting community members to "comments made that referenced weapons and were perceived by many to be threatening in nature."

"This kind of behavior is not tolerated from our students, faculty, staff, nor will it be tolerated by parents or guests of our school division," the statement said.

A spokesperson for the district declined to comment further on Monday.

Page County Sheriff Chad Cubbage told Insider last week that extra law enforcement was sent to all school buildings in the county to increase security on both Friday and Monday.

The district previously required all students to wear face masks, but Monday marked the first day that doing so became optional, as Youngkin's executive order took effect. School districts in liberal-leaning sections of the state have instructed students to continue masking, citing a state law that requires school compliance with federal health guidelines, The Washington Post reported.

Seven school districts in the state filed a lawsuit on Monday to stop the optional order.