3 men who threatened a school principal with zip ties after one of their sons was told to wear a mask have been charged

A man wielding zip-tie handcuffs at his kid's school in Arizona.

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• Three men entered the office of an Arizona principal on Thursday and threatened her with zip ties.
• One of the men's sons had been told to wear a mask and quarantine due to potential COVID-19 exposure.
• All three men have now been charged with third-degree criminal trespass, The Daily Beast reported.
• See more stories on Insider's business page.

Three men who threatened an Arizona elementary-school principal with zip-tie handcuffs over the imposition of mask and quarantine rules have been charged, The Daily Beast reported Tuesday, citing the Tucson police.

Last Thursday, Rishi Rambaran, Kelly Walker, and Frank Tainatongo entered the office of Diane Vargo, the principal of Mesquite Elementary School, to complain that Rambaran's son had been told to wear a mask and enter quarantine after potential exposure to COVID-19.

In a livestream of the altercation, shared by Walker on Instagram, Tainatongo was seen holding up zip ties in Vargo's office, Insider's Yelena Dzhanova previously reported. The video was later deleted.

Vargo told Insider they were "military grade large zip ties."

Rambaran was arrested and released on Thursday, and Walker and Tainatongo were arrested and released on Monday.

The Tucson police have since charged Tainatongo, Walker, and Rambaran with third-degree criminal trespass, The Daily Beast reported.

If convicted, the trio could spend 30 days in jail, the outlet said.

Vargo previously told Insider that while in her office, Rambaran had called the police and asked them to arrest her.

On Friday, Walker wrote on his business' Facebook page that he considered carrying out a citizen's arrest.

"When this kind of coercion and bullying is perpetrated by school administrators, breaking the law, a citizens' arrest is an option worth looking into. If it's legal, then parents have the right to consider it," he wrote.

In another video livestreamed by Walker as he was driving to the school to meet Rambaran on Thursday, he said the school was "blatantly breaking the law."

"They shoved a mask on his face, wouldn't let him call his parents, and now his dad is there," he said of Rambaran's son in the video.

Vargo previously told Insider that in order for her school to remain open during the pandemic, her faculty have to follow guidance from local and state health departments.

Of the altercation, Vargo told Insider: "These large men in my office. Two of the men weren't parents at our school, so I felt threatened. I felt scared."

In a video statement shared Friday, Vargo said the district plans to press full charges against the trio.

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