Casey Garcia, 30, of El Paso was was arrested last week after posing as her 13-year-old daughter at school in what she called a “social experiment” intended to demonstrate that security at the school district was lacking.
She was charged with criminal trespass and tampering with government records.
Garcia, who dyed her hair and used skin tanner to pose as her daughter, documented the "undercover" work in a video, which has since gone viral. She says she was eventually discovered by a teacher at the end of the day, then admitted to posing as her daughter. "I took off my mask, I took off my glasses, and said, 'I’m not Julie. I’m Julie’s mom,'" she reported.
Garcia, who is 4 feet, 11 inches tall and weighs 105 pounds, says she was only asked at the school for her ID number and was allowed inside. She said school staff was more concerned about her cellphone being out than her identity.
She doesn't name the school in her video, but says, "I’m proving a point that this is with all school systems, private school, public school, it doesn’t matter. We have a problem. There have been one too many mass shootings in schools."
PHOTO: El Paso Police Department