Rap song threat sparks concern from Oconee County school district parents, inquiry from FBI

By Taggart Houck

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    OCONEE COUNTY, South Carolina (WYFF) — Some parents in the Oconee County School District are concerned after learning a rap song was posted to a streaming platform threatening school staff and administrators earlier this year.

The song, which used expletives, was posted to SoundCloud back in May and was about 3 minutes long. It prompted an inquiry by the FBI.

It was created by a group of students at Walhalla Middle School. Threats in the song were directed at the school’s principal, assistant principal and some teachers there.

Some district parents and other community members said they learned about the song for the first time last week after reading it in the newspaper.

Jim Mann, Vice Chair of the Oconee County Republican Party, spoke before the school board Monday.

“I was hoping that tonight someone from the school board could at least give a more firm response to put at ease parents who are concerned,” he said.

Roberta Barton, a lawyer who said she represents some of the students who created the song and their families, said that they are sorry for what’s happened and that they never intended for it to be posted.

She said the song consisted of some phrases pulled from other rap songs.

These young men are very deeply ashamed of what they did,” said Barton. “The families all want all the teachers that were identified in this song to know they are so deeply sorry.”

The district said those students were punished in accordance with its behavior code after the song was first reported.

Superintendent Michael Thorsland said the school handled it correctly.

“There is law called FERPA (The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act),” he said. “We’re not allowed to talk a whole lot about student information including student misconduct. If we had even a remote thought that there was going to be violence, that there was going to be violence perpetrated at our school, do you really think we would let students come the next day?”

But some parents after the meeting said they’re still not happy.

“If those kids really did care or were sorry that they did that, they would apologize in person,” said Rannie Bond. “For their lawyer to say that those kids will never get the opportunity to say, I’m sorry, why don’t their parents have them take that opportunity and say they’re sorry? Because that’s what the community needs.”

The FBI confirmed to WYFF News 4 that it launched an inquiry after learning about the song but a spokesperson would not elaborate further.

“The FBI’s media policy prohibits discussing the outcome of investigations on matters where criminal charges are not filed. The FBI investigates the facts of an incident and, when appropriate, forwards it for judicial consideration,” said Kevin Wheeler, spokesman for the FBI in South Carolina.

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