EXCLUSIVE - A Georgia man is speaking out against the New Jersey chapter of the National Education Association for using a photo of him "completely out of context" in their ad on "extremist" parents in the Garden State.
"I'm very concerned for my safety. I wouldn't say that 20 years ago, but today people are crazy. Who knows what they’ll do?" Georgia resident Ron Tripodo told Fox News Digital in a phone interview Wednesday. "They [used the photo] completely out of context."
"I just want the truth to come out. I'm not gonna let them get away with a lie," Tripodo said of why he's speaking out against the photo being used.
The photo of Tripodo was used in an ad rolled out by the NJEA last week condemning "extremist" parents in the state.
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"When extremists start attacking our schools, that’s not who we are," the video says. "People who only want to fight to score political points should take that somewhere else."
About half-way through the 15-second ad, the screen flashes to a black and white photo of Tripodo standing up in a crowd of people while pointing. Captions over the photo included news headlines reading, "Some NJ schools under siege" and "‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill Introduced by NJ State Senator."
The photo is originally from a school board meeting in Cherokee County, Georgia, last year and was taken by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and used in multiple articles printed by the publication.
Tripodo noted that the photo of him used in the NJEA ad was "darkened," as the original photo was taken in color. He added that the photo was taken during a school board meeting on critical race theory and that he had repeated the phrase "We the people" to the board "four or five times" during the meeting.
"I was just concerned because the teachers were coming across like they make the decisions. And no, they don’t. The people that elect these school board [members], they should be doing what the demographics of that area wants," Tripodo, a father and grandfather, explained of the Georgia school board meeting last year.
The NJEA did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment on Tripodo’s remarks and whether they were aware Tripodo was from Georgia when they used the photo.
Tripodo, who is also an author and screenwriter, said he was made aware of the NJEA ad after repeated text messages and calls from friends and acquaintances, including some who asked him if he had traveled to New Jersey for a school board meeting.
But Tripodo says he knows nothing "whatsoever" about teaching matters and bills in New Jersey.
He also asked why the NJEA used a photo of "a guy in Georgia" to paint as an "extremist" when the ad portrays that there "all these ‘extremists’ in New Jersey."
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"I think it’s really a shame," Tripodo told Fox News Digital when asked his thoughts on a teachers union describing parents as "extremists."
"I went to the school to support parents," he said of why he went to the Georgia school board meeting last year. "The parents have the right to decide what their children learn and what they don’t learn. And for someone to say that you’re an extremist, they're extremists … they're just trying to poison people to stand up for what they believe in."
Tripodo also cited a memo from Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2021 where he pledged to mobilize the FBI and other DOJ entities against parents protesting critical race theory in public schools. Garland’s memo came just days after the National School Boards Association sent a letter to President Biden saying clashes between school boards and parents may amount to "domestic terrorism."
"The Left wants to demonize [parents who speak out on school curriculum] and called them extremist … and our own government Attorney General is ready to unleash the FBI on these parents … like they’re terrorists. What complete hypocrisy. They can’t have it both ways. I hope America wakes up," Tripodo added in a comment on email to Fox News Digital.
