Arrested father speaks out about Granite Falls bullying issue

Seth McBride went to his daughter’s middle school in Granite Falls last Wednesday to talk about a bullying problem his family is having.

“I had a conversation with them, and I left at 3:15 in the afternoon on Wednesday,” McBride told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson. “At 12:15 Thursday morning I was pulled out of my house by the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.”

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McBride was arrested for making threats at the school — an allegation he denies. School officials claim he told staff at the school that if they didn’t handle the problem he would come to the school with a gun and take care of the kids himself. They also reported that he said he would take a life sentence for his daughter.

But McBride argues none of that account is accurate. He did not want to discuss what was or wasn’t said, other than the school “twisted” the story and that the facts will “come out in court.” He did say that he is an Army vet with PTSD, so he does not have access to a firearm.

“As a parent we just want to protect our kids,” he said. “I never threatened anybody, never threatened to kill anybody.”

“Here’s the deal, I am tattooed on my hands, my throats, from my waist up,” McBride said. “I honestly feel that they saw me and took my appearance more as a threat than my actual words, and that’s where all the misperception came into play … I would never harm a child even if they are bullying my daughter.”

Bullying at Granite Falls

McBride argues that the real issue at play is a bullying problem in the Granite Falls School District — a problem the district will not address.

“Ever since she started there it’s been an ongoing bully issue,” he said. “We’ve been to the office more than a dozen times to get help for this. We are not the only parents having this issue. It’s really affecting her. She’s starting to isolate. Starting to be by herself. Not wanting to eat as much anymore. It’s really, really affecting her mentally and emotionally.”

Most recently, someone hacked into his daughters email account and emailed her a death threat. KIRO 7 reports that the email states “DIE I ALWAYS HATED YOU.” It’s not the first such email, either, McBride said. His daughter has also been verbally bullied at the school.

McBride says he’s not the only parent dealing with this issue. He points to the school’s social media accounts that have plenty of other parents reporting similar incidents.

“You will see from a lot more of the parents in that school district that Granite Falls School District has a long line of covering up bullying; protecting bus drivers, staff, and faculty with bullying. They just sweep it under the rug and nothing ever happens.”

Parents had mixed responses to the incident, reported by KING 5, some expressing support for McBride. He said he is aware of a walkout planned soon at the middle school to protest the district’s lack of response to the bullying issue and in support of him. Given his recent arrest, he is staying away from the school.

“There’s just so many parents frustrated with this school district and this bullying issue right now,” McBride said. “I’ve had many message from other parents saying ‘if it would have been me, you probably wouldn’t have been able to bail me out of jail if my daughter had gotten that message.’ Parents were even saying that they would have said more than what I said.”