(KRON) — An Oakland man who worked as a substitute teacher is accused of sending racially charged letters threatening staff and students at an East Bay elementary school, according to the Department of Justice.
Lester Dale Lee, 69, made his initial appearance in federal court on Friday in connection to several mailings sent in May 2023 to a teacher and principal of Dayton Elementary School in San Leandro.
In a criminal complaint, an FBI special agent said Lee used racial slurs in the letters to describe three Black students and threatened to shoot the teacher and the students if they were not removed from the classroom. Lee allegedly posed authorship as the parent of another student.
The first threatening letter was delivered via USPS to the teacher on May 3, 2023. School officials reported the letter to police, according to the complaint.
On May 18, 2023, a second envelope addressed to the school’s principal was received and contained an unidentified white powder. According to the FBI agent, the envelope matched the first in color and size, used the same typewritten address label, and had the same Oakland postmark and 2019 “forever” stamp.
One day later, a third envelope similar to the first two was received. The content of the typewritten letter, addressed once again to the teacher, was similar in racially charged threats to the first letter received. However, an 11-year-old student was mentioned by name, the special agent said.
Due to a specific child being named in the threat, “the school opted to inform the teachers, staff, and parents that the school had received a series of racially motivated threat letters specifically targeting members of the African American community,” the affidavit said. After the disclosure to parents, there was a spike in absenteeism at the school, which officials attributed to safety concerns.
Parents of at least one child opted to home school for the remainder of the year, according to the complaint.
Two more letters, addressed to the director of elementary education at the San Lorenzo Unified School District, were received in June 2023. The letters blamed the principal for “dangerous” and “hostile” conditions at Dayton Elementary and referred to three students as “little thugs.” The fifth letter was signed “Mr. L / A concerned worker at Dayton Elementary School,” the complaint said.
Prosecutors said Lee worked through a staffing agency as a substitute teacher from 2022 to 2023 at a number of schools in the district, including Dayton Elementary. He was fired in April 2023, according to the complaint, after allegedly making contact with one student with his cane and calling others “dumb.” Two involved students were in the same class as the teacher who received threatening letters.
In an interview with the FBI on April 27, 2024, agents asked Lee about teaching in the East Bay. According to the affidavit, Lee “described, at length, his feelings regarding the problems at public schools and how they relate to Black students.”
When asked whether as a Black man he found it easier to teach classes comprised of Black students, Lee allegedly told agents that sometimes it helped but other times “they accuse me of being white.” Lee said that in the students’ eyes he doesn’t “act Black” or “talk Black,” according to the affidavit.
Lee is charged with federal crimes of mailing threats and intent to convey false information and hoaxes. He is expected back in federal court on March 28.
(KRON) — An Oakland man who worked as a substitute teacher is accused of sending racially charged letters threatening staff and students at an East Bay elementary school, according to the Department of Justice. Lester Dale Lee, 69, made his initial appearance in federal court on Friday in connection to several mailings sent in May […]
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