Greely High School in Cumberland will increase security as a precaution after a Republican lawmaker’s post about a transgender student-athlete drew national attention that led President Donald Trump to threaten Maine’s federal funding.
Jeffrey Porter, the school district’s superintendent, issued a Friday letter to parents that said the town’s police department will increase its presence when students return from vacation on Monday. It is not in response to any one threat, although Porter wrote that the student has been the subject of numerous online posts that have concerned members of the community.
The firestorm was kicked off earlier this week after Rep. Laurel Libby, R-Auburn, made a post that pictured and named a transgender Greely student who won a recent girls indoor track and field championship. Libby and other Republicans are critical of Maine’s law that allows transgender athletes to compete under the gender that they identify with.
Libby’s post went viral and led to her making appearances in conservative media this week. Late Thursday, Trump told Republican governors that he would take away Maine’s federal funding if it continued its participation policies. Gov. Janet Mills vowed to sue Trump if he does that and got into a war of words with the president at a White House event on Friday.
On Friday, Libby asked a reporter to text her. She did not immediately respond when a reporter sent her the superintendent’s letter and asked for comment.
Her post identifying the student was criticized by Democrats, including House Speaker Ryan Fecteau of Biddeford. Jason Savage, the executive director of the Maine Republican Party, pushed back against Libby’s post without naming her during a Thursday interview in which he criticized Maine’s policies but called for opponents to have “a dose of humanity.”
In 2021, the Democratic-led Legislature expanded the Maine Human Rights Act to bar discrimination based on gender identity. Since then, the Maine Principals’ Association, which runs high school sports, has allowed students to compete with those of their identified gender. Before that, it considered transgender athletes’ requests to compete on a case-by-case basis.
BDN writer Billy Kobin contributed to this report.