Flight school official says multiple international students have withdrawn enrollments after Chinese espionage claims by Anderson council member

Several international students have withdrawn their enrollment at a local flight school, citing safety concerns after an Anderson council member accused the school and its students of engaging in Chinese espionage, an official with the school said this week. 

In January, IASCO Flight Training — a flight school based at Redding Regional Airport — posted a photo of nine cadets to recognize them for completing their flight training. The moment of online celebration took a turn when Anderson City Council member Darin Hale commented on the post with the same photo of the cadets, which he had altered by overlaying the words, “China’s Peoples Liberation Army / Redding CA,” with arrows pointing down at each cadet.

In the comments of the same post, Hale claimed that the flight school puts “American lives at risk,” citing his belief that Chinese students in the U.S. gather information and report it to their government. In the weeks following, Hale continued his allegations against the school in numerous posts on his personal Facebook page, though he didn’t provide evidence proving his claim that students at the flight school were engaging in Chinese espionage. 

The flight school responded to Hale in comments on the IASCO Facebook post and in a letter to the Anderson City Council, stating that his unfounded claims mischaracterized the school and its students “in a manner that is inflammatory, factually incorrect, and has encouraged hostility that places our students, instructors, and staff at risk.” The claims and IASCO’s response, which occurred amid intense national immigration action by the federal government, prompted news coverage by both local Shasta outlets and the L.A. Times. 

IASCO Flight Training Operations Manager Miranda Vorhis, who signed the letter to the city council, said she also requested that the council adopt a social media policy to curtail claims like Hale’s from being made in an official capacity. The council ended up adopting such a policy on Tuesday, with Hale casting the lone dissenting vote. 

In an interview yesterday, Vorhis told Shasta Scout that in the time since Hale’s claims were made, the school has had several previously enrolled students from other countries withdraw their enrollment because they either felt it wasn’t safe enough to attend the school at this time, or that it wasn’t in their best interest. 

“What has happened, even to this point, has been very detrimental to our company and our organization,” she said. “It’s stirred up a lot of issues … It’s still a very real security risk.”

She noted that Hale’s statements have come at a time when many immigrants are concerned about safety in America.

“I don’t believe that, you know, in Redding or anywhere in the U.S., that immigrants are inherently unsafe,” Vorhis said, “but it is a real concern, especially now, for a lot of students.” 

Asked about whether the school might take legal action over Hale’s claims, she said it’s been a consideration, but she can’t speak on that matter further. 

Hale told Shasta Scout in an interview yesterday that he “doesn’t have a whole lot of remorse” about the withdrawn enrollment of several students at the school because it’s owned by a China-based company. Hale also repeated a claim he’s made on social media that he believes IASCO is training Chinese citizens to be pilots in the Chinese military. 

“I understand a lot of that is out of our local control, that that has to do with Congress and the executive branch,” he said, referencing that decision-makers about U.S. immigration policy aren’t local. “But what we do have the ability to do … is voice our concerns about it.”

Hale did say he’s been posting about the flight school less frequently lately because he feels he’s done all that he can to prove links between IASCO and China. He added that he asked the Anderson City Council to write a letter to the Redding City Council asking members to further investigate the school, but that the request was denied. 

During Tuesday’s meeting, Anderson council members did not directly address Hale’s claims about the flight school. But they did take action in response to Vorhis’ concerns by passing a social media policy that outlines guidelines for public officials and city staff when it comes to social media use. 

At the meeting, Hale said he disagreed with some aspects of the newly-approved policy, including a provision that requires public officials to state whether they’re speaking in an official or personal capacity when discussing city-related matters on their personal accounts, calling the directive unconstitutional. He also said he will be refusing to follow the new policy when it comes to clarifying on every one of his social media page posts whether or not he’s speaking in a personal or official capacity when discussing city matters.

Vorhis said she’s glad that the council ended up adopting such a policy, but that Hale’s response raises concerns. 

“I’m concerned that [the council is] going to have issues enforcing it, and I’m hoping that they have some kind of plan in place to be able to do that because, as Mr. Hale said on multiple occasions … he doesn’t intend to follow it.” 

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