St. Louis County Police are investigating what they called a harassing postcard that was sent to Rockwood School District Board of Education member Izzy Imig at her Wildwood home.
Imig, who was elected to the board in 2022, said she received a postcard on Jan. 28 laced with obscenities that called for her to resign. She said another item was mailed to her home on Feb. 11, but she did not want to describe it.
Imig said initially she wasn’t going to speak publicly about the postcard or other item she received, but has since changed her mind.
“It is disgusting,” said Imig, an Iraqi immigrant who served as an interpreter for the U.S. military during the Gulf War. “I told my husband, ‘It feels like I am back in Iraq.’ I never thought I would experience this in America.”
St. Louis County Police reported that Imig contacted the department about the postcard on Jan. 28. On Tuesday, the department said its investigation into the matter is ongoing.
“No death threats were made, just aggressive language advising her to resign from the school board,” spokesman Adrian Washington said.
Imig said she believes a portion of the message on the postcards is a death threat because it references the late Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and his sons, Uday and Qusay, who also are deceased.
“The minute you mention Saddam’s son, who are known for raping and killing, that is a death threat,” Imig said. “When we were little, they would just drive to high schools or colleges, pick out girls and those girls would literally disappear and never come home.”
Imig said she doesn’t believe St. Louis County Police understand the serious connation behind the author of the postcard mentioning Uday and Qusay.
“The person who wrote the card knew exactly what they were doing,” she said. “I think the police see it as aggressive language, but they don’t know what Saddam’s sons mean. If you ask any refugee from Iraq or any military personnel who served in Iraq, they know what that means.”
Imig said her 13-year-old daughter was the first person who saw the postcard after it was mailed to her home.
“I can’t tell you how awful it was for a child to read that,” said Imig, who also has daughters who are 7 and 11. “She was absolutely terrified. Then imagine having to sit down with a 7-, 11- and 13-year-old and explain what this was and explain the police coming in and out. Then having security detail around my home. They were terrified.”
Imig said she has been harassed in emails and on social media since joining the Rockwood school board. “But nothing to my actual home,” she said.
The postcard writer also accused Imig of being affiliated with “MAGA,” a political slogan used by former President Donald Trump that stands for Make America Great Again, and said that political affiliation has no place in classrooms.
Imig, who was a conservative-backed candidate, said she understands some people have different viewpoints than she does, but believes sending threatening items to her home is out of line.
“Bringing this fear and act of terrorism to my home is crossing the line,” she said. “Sending this card across state lines is a domestic act of terrorism. (The sender) made it look like it came from New Orleans by the postage stamp.”
Imig said she will not resign from the school board.
Rockwood issued a written statement denouncing the postcard.
“Threats of any kind in Rockwood are inappropriate and inexcusable and will not be tolerated,” the statement said. “They undermine our mission, vision and values as well as our commitments, character principles and reputation as an outstanding school district and community. Rockwood takes threats of any kind very seriously, and we have processes in place to quickly address them.
“In the case of board members who receive threats, district leadership, board leadership, district security and law enforcement are all immediately involved to ensure the board member is protected both physically and emotionally. Additional security measures are offered and provided by the district as warranted. We will always cooperate fully with any local, state or federal agencies in their investigation and if and when any charges are filed, we will support our employees or board members in doing so.”