PETAL, Miss. (AP) - Charges have been dropped against a Mississippi woman whose parents received death threats after their daughter accused them of being racist, the woman’s attorney said Thursday.
Kaileigh Schmidt, 21, of Petal, was charged Wednesday with two counts of obscene communication. Her attorney, Carlos Moore, told The Associated Press the charges have since been dropped.
Schmidt said in a Facebook post on June 5 that her parents were racist and alleged her mother hit her, The Clarion Ledger reported. She included a video of her bruised face and her hair falling out. She also shared screenshots of text messages her parents allegedly sent to her, including racial slurs.
Schmidt also shared her parents’ personal information, phone numbers and addresses in Facebook groups, according to the Jones County Sheriff’s Department.
Schmidt said she wanted her parents to “go viral” instead of calling the police on her mom, and thousands of people commented on the post and shared it across social media. The postings resulted in the parents, family and friends receiving death threats, said sheriff’s investigator Ruben Bishop.
“Anyone who has come to (the parents’) defense on social media has received death threats,” he said. “The family has received thousands of threats from across the country.”
Bishop said Schmidt’s parents, who live in Ellisville, pressed charges in Jones County Justice Court.
Schmidt made another post June 7, stating she doesn’t condone any violence.
The family dispute started because the parents took the daughter’s car, Bishop said.
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