A teacher in North Carolina told her class that Mike Pence should be “shot in the head” — and now the Secret Service is investigating.
An unnamed English teacher at Cuthbertson High School made the comment while the vice president was in North Carolina to campaign for Republican Dan Bishop. The teacher has been placed on administrative leave and the school district is investigating her comments.
Secret Service investigates threat
The school is located in the state’s 9th district, where Bishop beat out Democrat Dan McCready in a highly publicized special election last week. The Union County Sheriff’s Office reported the threat to the Secret Service, a local Fox affiliate in Charlotte reported.
A parent of two students at the school condemned the comments. Firas Obeid said that he’s no fan of Mike Pence, but that the remarks were beyond the pale.
“This is the Vice President of the United States. He’s an elected official,” Obeid said. “Affiliation to a specific party does not entitle us to make a statement like that to anyone.”
The school district, meanwhile, is keeping the matter under wraps while they investigate. The district said that the teacher was immediately placed on leave, pending the completion of an investigation, and confirmed that the Secret Service was notified. Students are reportedly being interviewed to figure out exactly what the teacher allegedly said, and the school board is taking their cues from the Secret Service as they determine whether the teacher keeps her job, ABC affiliate WSOC reported.
“Union County Public Schools is taking the alleged inappropriate comments made by a Cuthbertson High School teacher very seriously,” the statement read. “Upon learning about the alleged comments, the teacher was immediately placed on administrative leave last week and there is an ongoing investigation into this matter. The Secret Service is aware of the reported comments made by the teacher. In addition, this is a personnel matter and information related to the investigation is protected by law.”
Comments condemned
Mike Pence has been a loyal, and comparatively quiet, vice president to President Donald Trump. The former Indiana governor has been in the anti-Trump spotlight lately over reports that he stayed at a Trump hotel in Ireland, raising conflict of interest talk in the #Resistance media.
In the Trump era, political controversy has become a more distinct feature of family and even professional life. Stories of backlash against Trump-supporting students have attracted media attention. Cheerleaders at another high school in North Carolina were placed on probation for supporting Trump. Amidst this charged atmosphere, some liberals, including adults who teach children, apparently seem to think that everyone agrees with them, and that it’s appropriate to air their resentment towards the Trump administration in class.
But other parents who spoke with local media condemned the comments about Pence, particularly considering they came from a teacher. “Especially as a teacher, you can’t justify saying that, especially to a group of kids,” said Theresa Grovanz, mother of a recent graduate from the school.
The Union County Republican Party condemned the comments as “way out of bounds.” Chair Alison Powers fell short of calling for the teacher’s firing — a pointed contrast to the usual response of leftists to any conservative who makes outrageous comments — but underscored how inappropriate the remarks were.
“You should not be bringing in those type of viewpoints to your job,” Union County GOP Chair Allison Powers said. “To just wish that kind of violence on anybody is just way out of bounds.”
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