Julie claims that police were letting Kenneth and others into the building in groups of 4, and that he waited his turn to be let in during the riots.
Their adult children also issues a statement in their solicitation for donations for legal funds.
Ken was originally arrest July 5, 2021 on 4 charges which he plead not guilty to, only to 4 months later take a plea deal, pleading guilty on 1 charge in exchange for the other 3 to be dropped. He was sentenced 3/30/22 to three years or probation, including 60 days of home detention and 60 hours of community service, $500 restitution.
Apart from personal beliefs or actions however, Julie appears to be academically qualified for the position. Her LinkedIn profile states that she holds a Master’s in Education, and has served in other administrative roles within the public school system. In her speech at the School Board meeting yesterday, she stated that she is very excited about the opportunity and thanked her husband and other for their support.
Julie’s statement in its entirety is below.
Update #1 Julie’s Story
July 23, 2021
The week before Jan 6th my husband told me he wanted to go to DC for the Rally. He put in for time off for the following week for a few days. That’s where it all started….
On the morning of Jan 5th I was getting ready for work and my husband was on the fence about going to DC by himself. I told him to do what he needed to do and he seemed passionate about being there to support President Trump. We knew hundreds of thousands of people were going to be there and in fact there were caravans leaving from Florida that he could have followed to DC. The next day on the 6th he called me after the rally and told me his story about the day. He started by saying “Julie, it was the most amazing day. There were people from all cultures, all walks of life and the energy was amazing. It made me proud to be an American and showed what this country truly represents”. He continued to tell me on how after the rally he walked the street with thousands of people and walked to the back of the capitol building where the public enters. He told me that he had helped three police officers from being in harm’s way, which I have no reason not to believe my husband of 31 years because on more than one occasion he has been my body guard and people mover in mosh pits from Metallica, Rage Against the Machine and Tool so I first handed know how he protects people from harm. He continued to say that once up to the capitol doors that the police said that if they helped get the approximately 1200 people that were in the building a clear path out they would let people in in groups of 4. So he waited his turn and was let in, which you can clearly see in the evidence presented by the FBI and stayed inside for approximately 8 minutes. He departed DC and returned home.
The night of the 7th we were sitting in our living room and getting ready for bed. At about 9:45pm a loud knock came from my front window. I said “Hello” and a man’s voice from the other side said “open the door, b**ch”. I said “NO, get off my porch”, he replied “open the f**king door now”. I ran and grabbed a flashlight and my phone. I called 911 and my husband went running into to bedroom to get our gun. I told the 911 operator what was happening and told the man on my porch I was on the phone with the police and we have a gun in the house and he should leave immediately because my husband is coming. About 3 minutes later I had 4 Melbourne Police Officers in vehicles in my yard. I am not sure if this was related to my husband being in DC or it was a coincidence, but it was strange.
The following week the doxing begins.
My principal came into my office with a piece of paper in his hand and gives it to me and says the superintendent would like me to read it. I read the anonymous report made to the Department of Education about me and it is filled with false accusations and lies about me. I also note a couple of things such as the person who wrote it used my first name with a capital letter and my last name was all lower case (meaning I am a contact in their phone). This person referred to my husband by “Kenny” not Ken, or Coach or Coach Reda which is what everyone calls him in Florida, so they personally know him. The person also said I am teaching students about right winged conspiracy theories, and QAnon and we are radicals that support Trump and I am pushing my agenda on students. They finished by saying they were a concerned parent. Well let’s debunk the facts they stated. Firstly, I am not a teacher and have not been in the classroom for 4 years so this is someone I know but do not talk to on a regular basis and/or have disagreed with over the past few years since the election. This person is also someone who probably has an agenda to destroy us and is a narcissist and/or sociopath who feels like some sort of social justice warrior. I said those words to my principal, and he agreed that this is a personal attack on me and my husband.
A few weeks later an anonymous tip is received at my husband’s school board reporting that he used paid time off to attend the rally in DC. He had to go in and meet with the Labor relations person to discuss what the tipster reported. He told them what happened to me. They considered the matter to be a personal attack and ironically at the same time frame a report is made to the Department of Education regarding the same thing. They do an internal investigation and find nothing, so he continues teaching and coaching.
June 19th we were leaving for vacation out of Melbourne Florida and the airline would not let me get my boarding passes via the app. We checked into the airport and something was wrong with my husband’s identification. The Delta employee had to make a call to Washington DC to get him cleared to fly. This process took about an additional hour. We were headed to go through TSA when a man came to get us out of line and take us into a more secluded area where we were searched thoroughly under my breasts, in my upper thighs and buttock, swabbed for explosives, electronics turned on and swabbed and our luggage taken apart and laid out on a table. The agents informed us that this would all happen again at the gate before we boarded the plane. We walked approximately 25 feet to the gate and they followed us with a table and the scanner to retest us for explosives. They never took their eyes off us and before we boarded the plane did it all again. The lead TSA man said he has only had to do this 3 times in the 15 years he has been employed. He also informed us to not leave the concourse when we landed in Atlanta or we would have to do this all over again. Another strange thing was a woman sat next to me on the flight with an orange flight jacket on that clearly worked for the airline, she did not say a word just read her bible the whole flight. We landed in Atlanta and had a 2-hour layover before our flight to San Diego, so we went and grabbed a bite to eat. We returned to the gate and 7 TSA agents were already there with a table set up to search us again. Now we knew something was not right. My husband walked up to one of the agents and said can we just do this and get it over with so my wife does not have to be humiliated in public again from the search, they said no we had to wait until they call us. So we did what we were told.
June 28th returning from our vacation in Cabo we flew into Tijuana to walk across into San Diego and my husband’s passport was flagged and he was detained by Border Patrol for 3 hours to be interrogated. I called back to the Marshall and asked if I needed to get a civil right attorney because he is being treated like a criminal and they told me he would be out when they were done with their investigation.
July 5th we were flying on a red eye out of San Diego to Atlanta to Melbourne, and you guessed it the same MO for us. I will say that the TSA female agent in San Diego was very thorough on my search. However, this time on our connection from Atlanta into Melbourne I had a high level manager sitting next to me until she asked the flight attendant if she would be permitted to move to a seat behind us. I believe she did this because she knew we are not a threat and she said her sister attends my church (I had a church t-shirt on). They let her move. We also saw two Marshalls watching us in Atlanta and they boarded the plane with us, now we knew something was about to happen.
July 6th we were deboarding the plane back to Florida and a team of US Marshalls came up to my husband and asked if he was Ken Reda. They took him into custody and separated us immediately. They gave me all of his belongings and I asked what was happening. They told me he was being arrested for being in DC on Jan 6th. I said he did not do anything wrong. They told me exactly what was about to happen. My husband would be taken to Orlando and detained at the Federal building and processed and would see the judge at about 2pm and would be released to me around 3pm. The let me see him before they took him away. I went in the room hugged him and said you did not do anything wrong, you are a good man, husband, father, pops and coach and God has you. When I got to the courthouse a Marshall came up to me and said Mrs. Reda? I replied “yes”, and he said I have your husband’s paperwork and personal items. When I looked at him, he seemed sad that he did this to us or at least that was the feeling I had. The next time I saw my husband was at 3pm he was shackled and masked in a court room like a criminal and I became infuriated that all the others sat there, mask-less, it was obviously mockery and humiliation tactics. After he met with the judge, we waited for the Marshalls to release him and as we walked out of the Federal house there was a reporter waiting for him. So apparently that leak does not take too long. It had already hit the news cycle on our drive because it was being shared on Facebook and Instagram and my phone began ringing. The news crews showed up on our lawn the next morning and were chased off by our neighbors.
Anyone that knows my husband can tell you he puts faith God, country, and family 1st. He is not a domestic terrorist or a threat to anyone in the country. He loves this country and serves a God that is faithful. This has been devastating for him as he is now on administrative leave from the school district, a job he loves with students he teaches, mentors, and encourages.
We don’t make much as school employees and need help with the attorney fees. If there is any way that you could share our story, contribute to his fund we would be forever thankful and prayerful. God has this and God wins in the end. In Jesus name we pray! AMEN
