(CNN) — Frontier Airlines has suspended a pilot over Facebook comments he is accused of making about a transgender student, officials said Monday. The posts were among several that led a rural Oklahoma school district to close for two days last week. The pilot, who was not identified by the airline, was suspended August 13, a day after the airline said it learned of the comments about the seventh-grade student made in a Facebook group for parents in the Achille Public Schools system. The airline did not say if the unidentified pilot was a parent in the district, which is southeast of Oklahoma City. Frontier officials are investigating. “Frontier Airlines prides itself on setting an example as a respectful workplace and we do not condone discrimination. We have long-established standards of conduct, to which all employees must agree to adhere, that among other things require people to act in a professional manner and to treat each other with genuine respect and kindness, the airline said. The incident started when the transgender student used the middle school girl’s bathroom this year, according to Achille Public Schools Superintendent Rick Beene. The student had used the staff bathroom in previous years at the district elementary school. Two parents complained about the girl’s use of the bathroom in a private Facebook group, which was not affiliated with the school, according to Beene. The threats against the girl escalated in severity and number when someone made the “Achille ISD Parents Group” public, Beene said. Some threats were traced to other parts of Oklahoma and Texas, the superintendent said. Facebook commenters called the seventh grader “it” and “thing,” according to CNN affiliate KXII. “That’s scary,” Brandy Rose, the girl’s mother, told the station at the time. “These are adults making threats to a child. I don’t understand it.” The Facebook page appears to have since been deleted. CNN’s Eric Levenson, Keith Allen and Darran Simon contributed to this report.<doc-sep>Hide Transcript Show Transcript WEBVTT MARKIE: TODAY A PILOT IS OFF THE JOB, BECAUSE OF WHAT HE SAID ABOUT A TRANSGENDER STUDENT IN OKLAHOMA. OFFICIALS SAY A FRONTIERIRLINE PILOT WAS SUSPENDED AFTER THREATENING COMMENTS WERE MADE ON FACEBOOK TOWARD THE 12-YEAR-OLD. ACHILLE PUBLIC SCHOOLS CLOSED FOR TWO DAYS AFTER THE THREATS WERE MADE. FRONTIER AIRLINES RELEASED A STATEMENT SAYING IN PART WE DO NOT CONDONE DISCRIMINTATION, THIS INDIVIDUAL WAS SUSPEDED ON AUGUST 13 AFTER FRONTIER LEARNED OF THE SITUATION PENDING Advertisement Frontier Airlines pilot suspended after threatening comments toward Okla. transgender student Share Shares Copy Link Copy Frontier Airlines officials said they suspended a pilot because of threatening comments made regarding a transgender student in Oklahoma.Officials said the threatening comments were made toward a 12-year-old student. Achille Public Schools closed for two days after the threats were made. The company released a statement, saying, “We do not condone discrimination. This individual was suspended on Aug. 13 after Frontier learned of the situation pending an investigation.”Full statement from Frontier Airlines: “Frontier Airlines prides itself on setting an example as a respectful workplace and we do not condone discrimination. We have long-established standards of conduct, to which all employees must agree to adhere, that among other things require people to act in a professional manner and to treat each other with genuine respect and kindness. This individual was suspended on Aug. 13, after Frontier learned of the situation, pending an investigation.I can confirm the person is one of our pilots. I believe there has been some conversation about him being a “bus driver” perhaps because of how he described himself in an online profile — but I’m not certain of where it came from. Sometimes, pilots refer to themselves as “bus drivers." It’s a slang term in the industry.We learned of the situation the afternoon of Sunday, Aug. 12 and took action on Monday as our statement above indicates.The process/investigation must now follow what is set out in the collective bargaining agreement with our pilots. Out of respect for the process, I hope you understand that we are unable to say more at this time.”<doc-sep>Frontier Airlines on Monday said that it has suspended one of its pilots over online comments threatening violence against a 12-year-old transgender girl. A spokesman said that the pilot was suspended last week pending an investigation into the threats, which forced an Oklahoma school to close for two days. The airline spokesman declined to release the pilot’s name but told The Associated Press that the airline does not condone discrimination. ADVERTISEMENT Schools in the Oklahoma town of Achille closed for two days earlier this month after a number of Facebook users in a district parents’ group made threatening comments about the transgender student after she used the girls’ restroom at her school. One of the comments reportedly suggested castrating the student, saying: “If he wants to be a female make him a female. A good sharp knife will do the job really quick.” Another referred to the student as “it,” and encouraged other students to attack her in the bathroom. “Just tell the kids to kick ass in the bathroom and it won’t want to come back! !” the comment read. The student’s family sought a protective order against one of the parents who made threatening comments after the transgender student’s mother was confronted in person. Superintendent Rick Beene said that law enforcement encouraged him to briefly close the schools due to possible “problems” with demonstrators.<doc-sep>
The pilot was allegedly part of the Facebook group of adults who threatened to harm a trans girl for using the women's bathroom at school. Since a group of parents declared it was “hunting season” on transgender people in response to news that a 12-year-old trans girl used the women’s bathroom at her school in Achille, Okla., the school shuttered its doors over the violent threats and her supporters held a silent demonstration. Now Frontier Airlines has suspended a pilot who allegedly threatened the young girl known only as Maddie, according to Oklahoma TV station KOCO. The pilot was accused, along with several other adults, of threatening to do harm to Maddie simply for using the women’s restroom once when she couldn’t access the faculty bathroom, as she was told to do. While the airline would not name the pilot involved with the incident, it released a statement confirming the pilot was suspended August 13 and condemning his actions. “Frontier Airlines prides itself on setting an example as a respectful workplace and we do not condone discrimination. We have long-established standards of conduct, to which all employees must agree to adhere, that among other things require people to act in a professional manner and to treat each other with genuine respect and kindness,” Frontier Airlines said in a statement. The vitriol from parents of students at the Achille school Maddie attended was ongoing. But a local parent by the name of Jamie Crenshaw really kickstarted the essential online hate group by accusing Maddie of “looking over the stalls in the girls' bathroom,” an assertion that prompted other parents to refer to the child as a “thing,” “it,” and “maggot.” One parent wrote on Facebook, “If he wants to be a female make him a female. A good sharp knife will do the job really quick.” “Just tell the kids to kick ass in the bathroom and it won't want to come back,” wrote another member. Another declared “hunting season” on transgender students. Maddie’s family has since filed a restraining order against the Facebook group. Regarding what will happen to the suspended pilot, Frontier Airlines said there is a process in place to investigate. “The process/investigation must now follow what is set out in the collective bargaining agreement with our pilots,” the airline said. “Out of respect for the process, I hope you understand that we are unable to say more at this time.”