JoCo school board member denies involvement in parody Facebook page run by son, threatens to sue

JOHNSTON COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- A Johnston County school board member is threatening to file a lawsuit after several people called for her to resign.

It's all tied to a parody Facebook page called Ronald Johnson's Prison Cell Phone.

Johnson is a former Johnston County school board member who is now behind bars for allegedly extorting a former candidate for the US House among other charges.

Our newsgathering partners at the News & Observer reported that the page regularly posts barbed comments against people who helped convict Johnston.

Back in January, a woman filed a complaint with the sheriff's office claiming she was harassed by the page. Several others also came forward with similar complaints.

Investigators found the page was connected to the 21-year-old son of current school board member Michelle Antoine. It was also determined that the page was being operated at a residential IP address belonging to Antoine.

Antoine was elected to the school board in 2022. The News & Observer reported that she and Johnson were political allies who campaigned for each other, and Antoine even testified in Johnston's defense during the extortion trial.

At this week's school board meeting, multiple people called for her to step down, claiming she was also behind the page.

"I'm standing up to you and telling you today that defamatory action originating from your home cannot only have consequences for you but for the Board of Education," former Clayton High School principal Bennett Jones said at the board meeting. "As such, you should do what's pertinent and right and for once resign immediately from this board so that the district, its employees and students can move forward without the constant distractions your presence creates."

Antoine denied the allegations and said a civil rights lawsuit was coming.

In a statement to the News & Observer, she accused the District Attorney's Office and Sheriff's Office of violating the 1st, 4th, and 14th Amendment rights by releasing her and her son's names.

Neither Antoine nor her son have been charged with a crime.