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Broward School Board Member Says She's Getting Death Threats For Elementary School's Field Trip To Wilton Manors Bar & Grill

WILTON MANORS (CBSMiami) – A Broward School Board member says she's getting death threats after a post she made about an elementary school's visit to a popular bar and grill in Wilton Manors. The story became so big that its prompted an investigation by the state.

"The owner is fantastic. Our girls absolutely love this place," gushed a mom at Rosie's Bar & Grill in Broward County.

And, by all accounts, so did another group of kids from nearby Wilton Manors Elementary.

A group of students from the school traveled to the well-known eatery, during the day, for a school field trip, masked up except while eating outdoors, per school policy.

John Zieba, owner of Rosie's Bar & Grill, explained, "They meet all the staff. The general manager explains what he does and what the chef does and what servers do."

But, when one of the chaperones, Broward School Board member Sarah Leonardi, tweeted out how "honored" she was to join the curious kids, the response quickly turned "wicked."

First, a group of moms who are anti-mask and champion parents' rights started complaining. Then came death threats aimed at Leonardi, the Broward School Board and Rosie's Bar & Grill's owner.

"We're getting horrible emails, (they're) jamming phone lines all day with nasty comments, cursing out my staff and with social media and everything else," an upset Zieba explained.

"You don't attack people and you certainly don't give death threats because someone has different lifestyle. You might not like it. You might not want to accept it, but you don't sit there and smash people," added Broward Teachers Union President Anna Fusco.

Rosie's, you see, is located in the predominantly LBGTQ neighborhood of Wilton Manors, with many gay customers. This led some to wonder if those initially criticizing the field trip for being ill advised during a pandemic.

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