AZ Teacher on Leave After Wearing Devil's Horns, Declaring 'Hail Satan' Over Each Student
A Mesa, Arizona high school teacher has been placed on paid administrative leave after reportedly dressing up like the devil and saying "Hail Satan" to his students, according to KPNX-TV.
Nathaniel Hamlet, a sophomore at Mesa High School, told the outlet he walked into class on Oct. 25 and noticed his teacher was wearing devil horns and carrying a pitchfork. He shared a photo of the teacher carrying a pitchfork in the classroom with the station, who blacked out the faces of the students and blurred the teacher's face.
Hamlet claimed the teacher would wave this pitchfork over students's heads as they entered the classroom, saying "Hail Satan."
"Some people thought it was funny. Some people didn't like it. Some people were like 'whatever,' they just blew it off,'" Hamlet told KPNX.
But the sophomore said he was insulted by the teacher's appearance because of his faith.
"I said, 'Don't do that to me' and I pushed {the pitchfork} away, maybe three or four times and he still said it and still did it," Hamlet told the outlet.
He told his father Chris Hamlet, a former Mesa Public School board candidate, about the incident. The elder Hamlet said he reported it to the school principal.
"I was livid because I am a Christian as well, obviously," he told KPNX. "What really tipped it over for me is, he kept telling him no, and he, the teacher kept persisting."
The station contacted the teacher who said teachers were in costume as a part of the school's Halloween spirit week. The theme for the week was dynamic duos and the teacher in the class next door was dressed in an angel costume.
"Participating in spirit weeks like this is a way for me to engage with my students and bring fun to my classroom," the teacher told the station. "It's truly not any more complicated than that."
Nathaniel Hamlet told KPNX that the teacher should be fired over the alleged incident.
In a statement, the Mesa Unified School District said, "Mesa Public Schools administration was notified of the alleged incident at Mesa High School late Wednesday afternoon after school hours. Our Human Resources department began the investigation Thursday morning and placed the teacher on paid administrative leave pending the result of the investigation. The investigation remains ongoing."
Chris Hamlet told KPNX that whether the teacher was joking or not, what was alleged to have been done in the classroom is not appropriate.
"If you're gonna keep the Christian stuff out, then you got to keep the devil-worshiping stuff out, period," he said.
However, parents of other students at the high school told the outlet that while they disagreed with the teacher's choice of attire, firing the teacher would be too severe.
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