Controversial Pamphlets Delivered to Charter School Offices, Intended for School Students

Thousands of copies of a political tract containing what many would consider virulent anti-American propaganda have been delivered to the offices of the Lake Wales Charter Schools to potentially be distributed to students. Some 45,000 of the "patriotic" pamphlets were printed, intended for delivery to schools, according to information shared on a Facebook post by the City of Lake Wales.

Courtesy City of Lake Wales

This controversial booklet, intended to be delivered to area school students, contains an essay by Mathew Staver, chairman of the Liberty Counsel, a far-right organization he founded with his wife in 1989. The essay contains highly-inflammatory language and accusations,

Among the materials they contain is an "essay" that paints a highly-dystopian picture of the nation that runs counter to the positive materials contained in civics instructions, at one point accusing America of "the wanton butchering" of 50 million children.

The controversial essay is contained at the back of a pamphlet fronted by patriotic documents including the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution. The pamphlets were produced by Liberty Counsel, an organization identified as a "hate group" by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

The pamphlets were published by "New Revolution Publishers" in 2012 and describe the "dark clouds" that threatened the nation at that time. They were delivered to Lake Wales Charter School offices by ousted former city commissioner Danny Krueger, with the rest intended for Polk County Public Schools. Sources have confirmed that Polk County Public Schools will not distribute the pamphlets.

Screenshot from City of Lake Wales Facebook page

Former city commission Danny Krueger, who was defeated in his re-election bid earlier this year, brought boxes of the materials to the offices of Lake Wales Charter Schools last week, according to information shared by the City of Lake Wales on the city's Facebook page. Krueger reportedly had obtained 45,000 of the booklets to place in the hands of students across Polk County.

It was unclear from the materials available online whether the pamphlets were approved for distribution to students within the charter school system. Lake Wales News has reached out to Lake Wales Charter Schools acting superintendent Alricky Smith to learn the status of the brochures that were delivered there last week, but the call was directed to voicemail, and the News has yet to receive a response.

The highly-charged political statements within include accusing former President Barack Obama of "confiscating our tax money to fund the worldwide killing of children."

Liberty Counsel was founded by Mathew Staver, who serves as chairman, and Anita L. Staver, its president. The two are attorneys and married to each other. Staver describes himself in the booklet as "a former pastor."

Among the many lawsuits the pair and their organization have filed were attempts to overturn the Affordable Care Act as unconstitutional, and others seeking to criminalize homosexuality. Those cases were rejected by the courts.

According to Wikipedia, "In 2000, Liberty Counsel threatened legal action against a public library in Jacksonville, Florida after the library held a party that featured readings from Harry Potter books and distributed "Hogwarts' Certificate of Accomplishment" to the children who attended.

Staver reportedly said "Witchcraft is a religion, and the certificate of witchcraft endorsed a particular religion in violation of the First Amendment's Establishment Clause."