'We Will Find You!': Tennessee Parents Harass Doctors Advocating Masks for Children

Angry parents have been filmed harassing medical professionals after they spoke out in favor of school mask mandates at a meeting in Tennessee.

The extraordinary footage was filmed after the Williamson County School Board voted to make it a requirement for students, staff and visitors to wear masks when indoors in elementary schools, or while travelling on school buses across the county.

Superintendent Jason Golden made the recommendation following a large spike in COVID-19 cases across the state, caused by the emergence of the Delta variant.

The change is due to come into effect from Thursday August 12 and will stay in place until Tuesday, September 21.

Masks will remain optional to students attending middle and high schools across the county.

While some of the parents present at the meeting spoke in favor of the mask mandate, many more were left angry at the decision and gathered outside the meeting afterwards to voice their frustrations.

In the video, first recorded and posted to Twitter by journalist Matt Masters before later being shared by USA Today's Natalie Allison, doctors and other medical professionals can be seen being heckled as they left the meeting by parents unhappy at the board's decision.

Chants of "Will not comply" and "No more masks" can also be heard on the footage while a placard with the word "Liberty" written across it is also visible on the video.

Several police officers are present and can be seen on the video attempting to escort the healthcare staff away from the scene unscathed.

At one point, one man, dressed in a black shirt, begins berating one of the people advocating for masks in schools as they are attempting to leave in a car.

"We know who you are," he shouts at the vehicle, angrily pointing at the passenger inside.

Another balding man then comes over and initially appears to be keen on diffusing the situation, telling the man in black "keep it calm."

However, a second later his mood seems to shift as he turns his attention to the person in the car, telling them: "We know who you are. You can leave freely, but we will find you."

"You better watch out," the man in black adds.

The flare-up came at the end of a tense four-hour meeting attended by hundreds of parents.

At least one man had to be forcibly removed from the meeting, while the board also had to contend with a series of disruptions that included chanting and heckling from those in attendance.

The board granted permission for 30 parents to speak for a maximum of one minute each as part of the proceedings.

That number included Daniel Jordan, a parent and former U.S. Marine from East Tennessee who, according to News Channel 5 Nashville, used his 60 seconds to warn the board that "actions have consequences."

"If you vote for this, we will come for you...in a non-violent way," he warned. "If you own a business, we will boycott your business...in the past, you dealt with sheep, now prepare yourself to deal with lions."

According to the news outlet, 25 elementary school students have tested positive for COVID-19 across the county since Friday.

Newsweek has reached out to the Williamson County School Board for comment.