By Madison Holcomb
REDDING, Calif. — A local flight school is pushing back against vague claims of espionage for training international students made by a city council member in Anderson, about 10 miles south of the city of Redding in Shasta County.
On Jan. 21, IASCO Flight Training — a flight school based out of Redding Regional Airport — posted a photo on Facebook of several cadets who are part of the Hong Kong International Aviation Academy. The cadets recently completed their flight training at the Redding school.
Darin Hale, who has been on the Anderson council for about a year, commented on the post. In his post, Hale used the same photo of the cadets, which had been altered by overlaying the words, “China’s Peoples Liberation Army / Redding CA.” Downward facing arrows pointed at each cadet.
In response, the flight school stated in the comments that it’s proud to serve international students — who make up about 50% of its student population — and that attempts to distort the school’s celebration of education and achievement with propaganda is “inaccurate, unnecessary, and unwelcome here.”
Hale replied, denying the school’s use of the term “propaganda,” broadly claiming without evidence that Chinese students in America gather information and report it back to the Chinese military. Hale accused the flight school of putting “American lives at risk.”
The city council member then shared a video of a Newsmax story from last May about Chinese students allegedly spying on American universities. The claim was initially made last year by two student journalists at Stanford. Hale didn’t provide any proof linking students at the Redding-based flight school with espionage, simply referencing their perceived nationality instead. The school stated in the comments that the students pictured aren’t even from China.
IASCO Flight Training Operations Manager Miranda Vorhis sent a letter later that day to the Anderson City Council. In the letter, Vorhis stated that Hale had 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.” Hale posted the letter on his Facebook page.
Vorhis continued that the school is federally regulated and that it trains both domestic and international students. She explained that international students are authorized through federal processes and are subject to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and Transportation Security Administration oversight. That process includes strict background checks, ongoing compliance audits and biometric collection.
She invited the city council, including Hale, to tour the school’s facilities and speak with students and staff to increase transparency. She also urged the council to reflect on the conduct of city officials.
“When rhetoric from an elected official fosters fear or hostility toward lawful residents, students, or local businesses, it undermines public trust and community safety,” Vorhis said in the letter. “We ask that the Council take this matter seriously and reconsider whether such conduct aligns with the standards expected of those serving in public office.”
Hale’s claims against IASCO Flight Training come as tensions over immigration rise nationwide. The Trump administration’s use of immigration police to conduct widespread enforcement efforts have resulted in the detention of American citizens as well as immigrants with appropriate legal paperwork and no criminal history. ICE’s actions have included stopping and detaining individuals based on their appearances and accents.
Since Hale’s initial comment on the school’s Facebook post, he has made several posts on his own page that accuse the flight school of being owned by China and training Chinese students who will become pilots for China’s military. He’s also made claims on Facebook about how Chinese students in America gain intelligence on infrastructure and other information and report it back to the Chinese government.
Hale denied a request to comment for this story.
In an interview, Vorhis said she’s not concerned about the validity of Hale’s claims about the school — which has been around since 1969 — but said that accusations such as these encourage students not to enroll because they feel less safe. Research from early 2025 documented the connection between perceived threats from China and anti-Asian hate online. Follow up reporting has documented how threat narratives about China can feed hate against individual Asians.
Vorhis said Anderson’s city manager responded to her letter by stating that Hale’s claims are not shared by the council or the city. She said she followed up by requesting the city look into adopting a social media policy for elected officials to curtail such claims being made in an official capacity but has not yet received a response.
Vorhis clarified that the flight school operates in Redding because of the region’s ideal weather conditions since it’s one of the sunniest cities in the country. She added that because the school is overseen by several federal agencies, she’s sure that students who attend are solely there to receive flight training but encouraged anyone with concerns to contact the school.
“We’ve been in Redding for a long time,” she said. “We’re here to stay. We call Redding our home, and we just want to make it clear that we’re not going to go anywhere because of these claims.”
This story was first published by Shasta Scout as part of Aqui Estamos/Here We Stand, a collaborative reporting project of American Community Media and community news outlets statewide.
