Florida woman smears gay school board member as a 'groomer' during angry tirade

An angry resident of Sarasota, Florida this week falsely accused an openly gay school board member of being a "groomer" during a heated meeting.

Local news station SNN TV reported that Sarasota woman Melissa Bakondy launched into an angry tirade accusing school board member Tom Edwards of corrupting young children sexually, while also questioning why schools allowed Edwards to read books to their students.

She labeled him an "LGBT groomer" and demanded that parents be notified whenever he's due to read a book to children in schools.

The woman's tirade earned a rebuke from conservative board chairwoman Bridget Ziegler, who apologized to Edwards.

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Mother Jones reported earlier this month that Edwards has been targeted by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for electoral defeat in 2024 due to his status as the supposedly "most 'woke' school board member in America."

Edwards told Mother Jones that DeSantis has created hit lists of non-conservative school officials who do not "agree with his attempts to turn back the clock on public school education."