Brief lockdown at West Charlotte High School lifted after online threat
(QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A brief lockdown at West Charlotte High School has been lifted following a school threat shared on social media, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools confirmed.
In a message sent out to West Charlotte High School families on Wednesday, Principal Paula Cook confirmed the school was placed on a lockdown in response to the online threat.
Law enforcement responded to the property on Wednesday, conducted an investigation, and gave school officials the 'all clear.'
All students and staff on campus were safe and instruction continued as normal.
'We ask that you speak with your child(ren) and remind them that all threats have serious consequences. Any student who makes a threat is in violation of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Code of Student Conduct and will be disciplined accordingly, including the potential for criminal charges,' Cook said. 'We encourage all students to report threats to a trusted adult. Reports can also be made anonymously through the Say Something App.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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The report has already caused significant political fallout: Democratic City-County Council member Andy Nielsen, who served on the investigative committee, earlier this week became the second council member to call for Hogsett to resign over what he said was a leadership failure by the mayor. Democratic socialist Jesse Brown called for Hogsett's resignation after the 2024 reporting. Cook in the past apologized for his conduct, though he didn't participate in the Fisher Phillips investigation. He has not been charged with a crime. Hogsett, meanwhile, has defended his handling of his past investigations into Cook. The mayor has called on the council to study how to implement various reforms recommended in the investigative report, including dissolving the city's HR department in favor of an independent structure and appointing an inspector general. 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The most glaring omission in the report, according to the women's lawyer, is not referring to the contents of the text message exchanges with the mayor that Roberts and Ellert provided to investigators. 'Ms. Roberts and Ms. Ellert voluntarily provided these messages to investigators and underscored their concerns about the mayor's behavior as both their boss and as a person in a position of authority,' Sniderman said. In at least one instance, those messages contradict an assertion by Hogsett in the report, in which the mayor 'stated (Roberts) never mentioned personal life concerns and that he did not know anything personally about her.' A 2015 text message exchange between Roberts and Hogsett provided to investigators and obtained by IndyStar shows the mayor knew her then-partner's name and referred to Roberts as 'feisty.' After Roberts messaged Hogsett about campaign logistics for the following morning, Hogsett told her 'Happy Valentines Day.' 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At 10:15 p.m. on June 12, 2020, Hogsett texted Ellert about a years-old photo of the two of them. At the time, Ellert was 26 and was the executive director of the Marion County Democratic Party, a position that often put her at the behest of the mayor, then 63. 'Can I tell you that the picture of you and me in front of the seal (which I know you did not want to take nor did you like taking) is my absolute favorite,' Hogsett wrote. 'It appears so real, as uncomfortable as it may have made you.' He continued in a second message: 'It's almost as if we are both proud that the picture memorializes us in that particular moment, however long ago and that we are happy and proud of each other. I know you weren't but you faked it well.' Ellert didn't respond. Two days earlier, Hogsett had asked her extensively via text about her preferred poetry in another after-hours exchange that appeared to span a few hours. After initially texting Ellert about work-related logistics, he followed up about poetry: 'So, last question. Which poem do you find more meaningful and/or compelling: 'The Wasteland' or 'The Lovesong of J. Alfred Prufrock'?' The topic was familiar — yet unnerving — to Ellert: Cook also had showered her with poetry, including one time placing a poetry book on her desk even after she asked him to maintain appropriate boundaries at work. Hogsett proceeded to ask for her favorite poetry, saying he would read it that night. The mayor then sent repeated messages asking, in various ways, for Ellert's advice on an unspecified issue. In one, he said, 'I care what you think?' 'This entire thing is completely frackup. Advise me how to deliver,' he said in another text. The next: 'I am asking.' The next: 'I need your advice. Thanks' At that point, Ellert asks what he's talking about. Hogsett responded, 'Like what I am going through now?' 'It is only 9am,' he wrote, then correcting the time to "9pm" in a follow-up message. 'So tell me what I should do.' She asked again what he needs advice on. Hogsett replied, 'about all things.' In several follow up messages, the mayor implored Ellert to respond, saying, "Talk to me," "Please," and 'Hello: it's only 9:36pm' The final investigatory report by Fisher Phillips makes no mentions of the messages — or the concerns the young women had shared about those communications with investigators — even though it contains a section on workplace culture in the Hogsett administration and notes Cook "and others" acted unprofessionally around women and other employees. Ellert and Roberts' lawyer said the report "fails to account for all of the evidence that my clients provided and misses the full scope and import of the relevant issues." About three years later, having secured a job away from the Hogsett administration and outside Cook's 'perceived sphere of influence,' as the report notes, Ellert made the decision to report her sexual harassment and assault allegations against Cook to Hogsett. She relayed her testimony in a September 2023 phone call with Hogsett and the city-county's corporation counsel. The final report asserts as fact, twice, that Ellert did not use the term 'sexual assault' during that call. "While (Ellert) did not use terms 'sexual assault' or 'rape,' Mayor Hogsett understood what (Ellert) had described (i.e., non-consensual sex), though she did not use the specific term sexual assault," the report reads. However, she and her lawyer assert she did use that term in the phone call, and they told this to Fisher Phillips investigators. They confirmed this characterization in follow-up correspondence with investigators obtained by IndyStar. 'The report consistently construes the mayor's statements as facts and my clients' statements as mere claims,' Sniderman said. "The mayor claimed that she did not use the term 'sexual assault' during her initial conversation with him in 2023 concerning Mr. Cook's conduct. However, Ms. Ellert clearly told investigators otherwise." Another point of contention was who was really responsible for Roberts as an employee when she worked for the Hogsett campaign more than a decade ago. The Fisher Phillips report asserts Roberts was actually an employee of the Indiana Democratic Party while working for the Hogsett campaign. That contradicts a memorandum of understanding Hogsett signed in 2014 which Roberts provided to investigators, as well as an email from a party attorney. The MOU Hogsett signed when Roberts took a job with his campaign clearly states Roberts is "employed by the Committee," referring to the campaign, and that the state party "is not my employer." It was an agreement spelling out the party's role as a payroll processor. The email, from attorney Karen Celestino-Horseman to Roberts in 2019, states Roberts was 'not employed by the state party' but the party merely handled payroll, as it does for other campaign staff. Roberts has previously asserted that neither the party nor the campaign wanted to take responsibility for handling her harassment case. More: 'No one wanted the ball': Women who experienced harassment say Democrats' response lacked She said she fears complaints made by campaign workers will continue to fall through the cracks if that doesn't change. The women's attorney, Sniderman, said Ellert and Roberts are speaking out in order to advocate for themselves and others who have been "targeted by workplace abuse." "Their goal remains the same," he said. "To help end these cycles of abuse." Contact senior government accountability reporter Hayleigh Colombo at hcolombo@ Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@ or follow her on X@kayla_dwyer17. Sign up for our free weekly politics newsletter, Checks & Balances, by IndyStar political and government reporters. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Hogsett investigation: Late-night texts from mayor, key details left out
