Charges Dropped Against Man Accused Of Threatening To Burn Down School Over Mask Mandate

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - Charges have been dropped against a father accused of threatening to burn down his son's school over its mask mandate.

Mark Polyakov, 37, made the remarks on February 8 during a text thread involving other parents whose children attend the Scheck Hillel Community School in North Miami Beach.

In one post, Polyakov put up a picture of the school, along with the following: "I want to burn this school to the (expletive) ground. This is what they are doing outside forcing (expletive) masks 80 degrees. You cant be nice gets you no where."

As a result of this post, Poliakov's four-year-old son was expelled from the school.

Polyakov's attorney said he meant 'legally' burn down the school, not literally.

"It is so clear what my message was. It was stated, maybe on seven or eight different occasions, before I even mentioned those terrible words 'burn the school down,' that I was hiring an attorney and that I was going to sue the school," said Polyakov.

He was facing up to 15 years in prison if convicted.