Threats prompt Erica Coakley to withdraw from CCSD Board race

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – A Charleston County School District (CCSD) Board member is withdrawing from the race less than a month before elections due to safety concerns.

Erica Coakley announced Tuesday that she plans to file the necessary paperwork to withdraw from the race, saying that she no longer feels safe in office.

She was elected in 2020 and said that since then, she and her family have received numerous threats.

In December of 2021, Coakley claimed to receive a text message warning that her then 23-year-old son would be dead by Christmas.

Later that month, her son became unresponsive after the two attended a community event. He spent weeks in the ICU and died in January.

The autopsy report found traces of an unknown substance and marijuana in his system at the time of his death.

In September of 2022, Coakley called on the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) to investigate the threat and identify the unknown substance found in her son’s system, with the goal of determining whether the threat was connected to his death or if it was just an unfortunate coincidence.

According to Isaac Cramer with the Charleston County Board of Elections, Coakley’s name will still appear on the ballot even if she does formally withdraw.

Coakley is the second current CCSD Board member to withdraw from a re-election campaign, with the first being Board Chair Rev. Dr. Eric Mack.