No Apologies: CDA Press’ Madison Hardy ‘Stands By’ Reports Characterizing Coeur d’Alene Parents as “Mob”
You can vote for school-board but you cannot vote for local media.
On September 25th, 2021, Madison Hardy, a reporter for the CDA Press, penned an article titled “Mob Scene,” in which she labeled concerned parents in North Idaho who were protesting their local school-board’s COVID policies as a “mob.” Then on September 29th, just three days after Hardy’s report, the National School Board Association (NSBA) wrote a letter to president Joe Biden, requesting that the FBI label these parents ‘domestic terrorists’ — the NSBA has since retracted and apologized for characterizing parents as a mob. The CDA Press, on the other hand, has not.
Speaking on Friday, November 12th at the North Idaho Pachyderm Club as a representative of the CDA Press, Madison Hardy was asked about her “Mob Scene” article, and if she “stood by” her report, which many believe prompted the NSBA’s letter requesting the DOJ label these parents as domestic terrorists.
“That was not something I had personally written” Hardy stated, claiming “it was added after I had submitted it,” referring to the characterization of parents as a “mob.”
Hardy continued, stating “I stand by the reporting that I got the quotes and the depiction of what happened,” adding “because I was there, we do have videos. Um, but … in reflection, it’s mean to call someone a mob.”
Hardy was asked again “so, was it a mob?” Deviating from her original characterization of “mob,” Hardy replied “it was a very passionate group of upset parents.”
The official Merriam-Webster definition of Mob: a large and disorderly crowd of people — especially : one bent on riotous or destructive action.
The below video of the scene in Coeur d’Alene does depict, in Hardy’s words, a “passionate group of upset parents,” but does it depict a group bent on riotous or destructive action?
The above video shows parents in Coeur d’Alene who have become frustrated by their local school district’s policies, practicing their right to free speech. There was reportedly no damage to property and no physical altercations.
The National School Board Association publicly apologized for their gross mis-characterization of parents, such as those in Coeur d’Alene, who are upset with their local school boards.
The question remains: Will the CDA Press apologize for calling North Idaho parents a mob?
