A Florida The woman whose complaints led to school restrictions over a poem read at Joe Biden’s inauguration appears to have ties to several far-right groups, including Ron DeSantis– supported “Moms for Freedom” and the neo-fascist group Proud boys.
In a complaint demanding that her child’s school remove the textbooks entirely, Daily Salinas alleged that The hill we climb – Amanda GormanThe book version of the poem she read at the presidential inauguration and several other titles contained references to critical race theory, gender ideology, “implicit messages of hate” and “indoctrination,” especially of socialism, according to documents released by the Florida Freedom to Read Project.
Her complaint led the school to restrict access to the book along with The ABCs of Black History, Cuban children and Love to Langston. The school board moved the books to the middle school section, even though the books were recommended for younger readers.
Ms. Salinas told Miami-Herald that she is “not in favor of eliminating or censoring any books,” but wants the materials to be relevant and for students to “know the truth” about Cuba.
But she appears to have ties to, or expressed support for, several far-right groups that promote broad LGBT+ restrictions and frank discussions of race and racism, according to a review of her social media history and online activity by Miami Against Fascism and The Daily Beast.
In August 2021, she was photographed with Proud Boys leader Enrique Tario during a protest against Covid-19 protections in Miami-Dade schools.
The following year, wearing a Ron DeSantis T-shirt, she attended another Proud Boys rally in support of far-right activist Christopher Monzon, a 2017 Unite the Right rally participant who was allegedly beaten while campaigning for Republican Sen. Marco Rubio last year. year Ms. Salinas was also photographed posing with Mr. Monzon and a small group of his supporters after his release from the hospital.
That same year, Ms. Salinas also volunteered on the governor’s Education Tour, promoting right-wing candidates in school board elections as part of his efforts to overhaul the state’s education system.
Video from a July 2022 Miami-Dade school board meeting shows Ms. Salinas with the group Moms for Freedom disrupting the hearing to protest sex education textbooks previously approved by the board. The footage shows the police forcefully removing her from the meeting.
Moms for Freedom, a right-wing group that emerged as a result of protests against the Covid-19 guidelines, proposed the so-called generosity for reporting teachers allegedly discussing “contentious topics” in schools attacked The Trevor Project to support young LGBT+ people at risk of suicide and launched a flurry of book challenges.
The group also won praise from Mr. DeSantis, who appointed one of its members to the board that now oversees facilities operated by the Walt Disney Company for its massive Orlando Park campus.
The Independent requested comment from the group’s Miami-Dade office.
A review of Ms. Salinas’ social media history includes a Facebook post calling the Proud Boys “los mejores,” or “the best.”
“My proud boys,” she wrote in an April 2021 post above a photo of Tario with other members of the group.
In March of this year, she shared a Facebook post promoting the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” centuries-old fake anti-Semitic propaganda.
Ms. Salinas appears to have deleted the post after it was tagged on Twitter by Miami Against Fascism. She then posted an image of an Israel Defense Forces soldier with the caption: “People have never seen this. I love my Jewish people.”
“I want to apologize to the Jewish community,” she told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency May 24. “I am not who the message says,” she added. “I love the Jewish community.”
She also co-hosted a Spanish-language podcast — Hablando Como Los Locos — that released an episode titled “Learn more about Kanye West, his controversy, his message” on December 5, 2022. Four days earlier, the rapper appeared on Alex Jones’ InfoWars and praised Adolf Hitler.
The Independent reached out to Ms. Salinas for comment.
Mr. DeSantis, who is running for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, has introduced sweeping laws to control education in public schools and classes and speech he finds objectionable, and reports on the effects of those policies called a “hoax” and a “false narrative” manufactured by the press.
The state under Art the center of the national trend calls against books and materials in libraries and schools, while the governor continues to falsely insist that no books have been banned as he begins his 2024 campaign.
A trio of state laws passed last school year include what opponents have called “don’t say gay” a law that prohibits the teaching of sexual orientation or gender identity in the classroom in all school grades, and laws that limit discussion of race or racismand determine how schools catalog the books on their shelves. Collectively, teachers and schools have been forced to remove materials for fear of facing legal action without clear instructions, or faced an increase in threats and challenges from activists emboldened by the legislation.
Last week, Penguin Random House and several famous authors and families filed a federal lawsuit against a school district where activists challenged dozens of books, mostly featuring or written by people of color or LGBT+ people.
In Escambia County alone, nearly 200 books have been challenged, at least 10 books have been removed by the school board, five books have been removed by district committees and 139 books require parental permission, according to an analysis by the free-speech group PEN America.
In Clay County, Florida, at least 100 books were pulled from shelves after one man called PEN America has been found.
