Officials: Huntley High School student to be charged after racist, threatening messages

A student at Huntley High School is to be charged with "multiple" felonies related to racially motivated and threatening messages that were shared with other students through social media, officials said.

The incident is related to racially motivated messages sent by a single student earlier in the year but recirculated among students last week, Huntley Deputy Police Chief Linda Hooten said Wednesday.

Neither the student nor the charges are being made public because of the student's age, Hooten said, but the felonies were approved through the McHenry County state's sttorney's office.

Since the investigation into the messages began, Huntley High School Principal Marcus Belin has released two notices to families. His first, dated April 21, said the school's administration received "multiple reports" from the school's student helpline about racist messages and a video containing "racist material, offensive language and a threat to a student's safety."

In a follow-up Sunday, Belin said he is unable to share specific information about the student discipline process and called the racist video and messages "an attack on this culture that we continuously work to create."

"I also want to tell you that this situation has not only had an impact on me as a Black leader in our district but as a parent of Black students in our district," Belin wrote. "As I drop off my kids at school each morning, I expect they will enter a safe learning environment. I expect them to be cared for by their teachers and classmates."

Attempts to reach District 158 for further comment Wednesday were unsuccessful.