TUCSON, Ariz. — A second person has been arrested after a group of people drove to an elementary school in Arizona and allegedly threatened to make a citizen’s arrest over COVID-19 protocols.
Update 10:50 p.m. EDT Sept. 6: On Monday, the Tucson Police Department said that Kelly Walker, 51, was charged and released on a misdemeanor trespassing charge, KVOA reported. Tucson police earlier arrested Rishi Rambaran, 40, on the same charge, the television station reported.
BREAKING: 2nd arrest made in clash where group threatened to zip-tie Vail elementary principal over COVID-19 protocols https://t.co/hZYj0kvqtU
— KVOA News 4 Tucson (@KVOA) September 7, 2021
Original report: Earlier this week, an individual was asked to quarantine from Mesquite Elementary School after it was discovered that the student had been in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.
Per Arizona state policy, the Pima County Health Department asked the individual to quarantine to help combat the spread of the coronavirus. The quarantine forced the affected student to miss a field trip.
School district officials said three men, who had the quarantined student with them, went to the school office on Thursday to protest the school’s enforcement of the directives. According to The Associated Press, one of the men posted video of the encounter with the principal on social media.
One arrested after group threatened to zip-tie Vail elementary principal over COVID-19 protocols https://t.co/iecOAixW4a
— KVOA News 4 Tucson (@KVOA) September 3, 2021
At least one of the people brandished cable ties and they threatened to make a citizen’s arrest of the principal, Diane Vargo, Vail Unified School District Superintendent John Carruth said.
The principal met with the people in her office for about 20 minutes before asking them to leave, which they refused to do, Carruth told The Associated Press.
Vargo called the police after meeting with the group.
According to KVOA, Rishi Rambaran, 40, was later arrested for trespassing in connection to the incident.
Rambaran is the father of the student who was directed to quarantine and missed the field trip, officials said.
He has since been cited and released.
The person who was in the group that recorded the videos on social media told KOLD that he plans on filing a lawsuit.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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