SALT LAKE CITY — Wearing "I Stand with Natalie Cline" t-shirts and calling her a hero, several people spoke out for the embattled Utah Board of Education member during her first appearance since being censured for a controversial social media post last month.
Thursday's meeting started just after 9 a.m. and minutes later was opened up to public comment. Each member of the public was allowed two minutes to speak for the one-hour period.
"I'm so embarrassed with how you all have treated Natalie Cline," said Stephanie Grant, who questioned whether the board was "fighting" for students and parents.
Another woman claimed Cline was a "whistleblower," and that the board was silencing her with their punishment.
Last month, the board formally censured Cline and called for her resignation following her falsely targeting a high school girl's basketball player for being transgender, which she is not. The board voted 14-0 in favor of the censure, and also removed Cline from all committees, and prohibited her from placing items on upcoming Board agendas or attending any Board advisory committee meetings.
A supporter named Wendy said Cline had "made a mistake" and that the post was made late at night when most people were not online.
"She in no way bullied anyone," Wendy said, claiming that the board ran "to the press with lies." The woman was admonished to stick to policy issues when she went on an alleged attack on a particular board member.
Cline advocate David Burton appeared to blame those who spoke out against her social media posts and the media for bringing negative attention to the situation.
"It wasn't the single post on Facebook that did that, it was everything that happened after it," said Burton. "Which means, if those entities were truly concerned about the student, they would not have publicly broadcast what they said."
During the comment period, Cline supporters were told several times to remain civil and stop applauding.
Cline faced widespread national condemnation following the comments, including Utah Gov. Spencer Cox. The Utah State Legislature also looked into impeaching Cline before voting on simply censuring her.
Following the comments in support of her, Cline did not speak.
