A Brevard County woman has been arrested after allegedly threatening to burn down Rockledge High School during a heated phone call with school staff. According to the Rockledge Police Department, 40-year-old Brandie Covington was taken into custody this week following two threatening phone calls made to the school on Tuesday.
The incident began when Covington called Rockledge High School to complain that her daughter’s boyfriend had been denied a school-provided lunch because there were insufficient funds in his meal account. “Covington was irate because her daughter’s boyfriend had his school-supplied lunch taken away from him due to lack of funds in his account,” the arrest affidavit states.
A school employee reportedly tried to explain the school’s policy for handling students without money in their accounts, but Covington quickly became agitated. “(The employee) began to explain the school’s process of dealing with students without money in their account, and Covington began to yell and cuss at her,” police said.
Investigators said that when the employee attempted to calm her down, Covington escalated the situation further. She allegedly told the staff member, “I’ll be over there to blow that (expletive) school up,” before abruptly hanging up.
Minutes later, police said Covington called the assistant principal’s office and made a similar threat, saying she would “burn the school down” before ending the call again, according to Orlando-based CBS affiliate WKMG.
Officers soon located Covington at her home, where she admitted to calling the school but denied making any direct threats to harm anyone or damage property. Despite her denial, investigators determined there was sufficient evidence to arrest her.
Covington was booked into the Brevard County Jail and charged with threatening to discharge a destructive device — a serious felony under Florida law. She was later released on Thursday after posting a $75,000 bond.
The Rockledge Police Department confirmed that there was no actual danger to the school or its students, but said all threats are treated as credible until proven otherwise. School officials have not commented publicly on the incident, though the district is expected to review safety protocols related to handling threats and aggressive communications from members of the public.