Press Herald - School districts across Maine are urging families to be vigilant of online groups that allegedly target children and coerce them into committing acts of self-abuse, though no specific threats have been made against Maine schools, officials say.
In letters to families sent this week, superintendents warned of “nihilistic violent extremist” groups, which they say target children from 9 to 17 through social media and online video games. The letters, which came from districts from Brunswick to Portland to Yarmouth, followed a notification by the Cumberland County Emergency Management Agency warning local school districts and community organizations of the groups.
“Cumberland County EMA has received credible information from the FBI and CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) confirming that multiple Nihilistic Violent Extremist (NVE) groups are actively targeting children online,” the letter began, though it did not specify whether any schools or students in Maine had been singled out.
The agency was alerted to the groups’ existence during a general informational session held about a week ago by the FBI and released “a notice to raise awareness,” Director Michael Durkin said on a Friday afternoon phone call.
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Press Herald - Residents across Maine will get the chance Tuesday to approve or reject their school districts’ proposed budgets. But as voters gear up to decide on budgets, special election races and some bond projects, a few this year could prove controversial. A bond project in Cape Elizabeth and the budget in Gorham are among the elections that are expected to be closely contested on Tuesday