Florida Substitute Teacher Fired After Brave 8th Graders Challenge Her Lies About Antifa At Capitol Riots
Video shows Florida substitute teacher perpetuating misinformation about Capitol riots to students.
Alex Gakos / Shutterstock Since the insurrection that happened at the Capitol building more than a week ago by far-right domestic terrorists, many people have incorrectly claimed that left-wing political movement Antifa were the ones behind the riots.
Even though it's since been proven that Antifa did not storm the building, and the pro-Trump mob was made up of some members of The Proud Boys and other far-right organizations, one Florida substitute teacher stuck to her own conspiracies — and was fired for it.
A central Florida substitute teacher — whose name has yet to be confirmed — was caught on video spreading misinformation about the Capitol riots in the classroom, even after respectfully challenged by one very brave student in her classroom.
The clip, which is just over two minutes long, takes place during a language arts class at Edward W. Bok Academy South in Lake Wales, Florida.
Damien Moses, the principal of Bok Academy South in Lake Wales, Florida shared an exclusive statement to YourTango regarding actions that are being taken against that teacher after the release of the video:
“We understand there’s a video released and shared on social media of an incident on our campus. Our administration is aware. The substitute is no longer employed at our school, nor within the LWCS system.”
Dr. Julio Acevedo, the Director of Human Resources & Transportation at Lake Wales Charter Schools, also commented on the matter in an exclusive statement via email to YourTango.
"As soon as the situation was brought up to the administration of the school. Dr. Moses addressed the issue with the substitute teacher and informed me," the statement read. "I spoke with the substitute teacher and she is no longer an employee of LWCS."
The video was filmed and released by a student, then shared online. The video quickly spread across most social media platforms and has been getting the attention of people on both the left and right, which you can read in the comments section of the Instagram video below.
Once the video starts, the teacher has already begun her rant.
The students — confirmed to be eighth graders — were seated in the classroom.
They were socially distanced and wearing masks, listening to the substitute teacher’s tirade.
"The supporters arrived, and suddenly there was violence. Already, three of those have been identified as Antifa members that were in the building," the substitute teacher said.
The FBI has since declared that there was no indication that individuals associated with Antifa disguised themselves as pro-Trump supporters in order to provoke the mob at the U.S. Capitol — a baseless claim repeated by several Republican lawmakers.
"We've had trouble with this all summer long," the teacher continued, just as a student started to speak up, though she ignored him.
"There are peaceful demonstrations, we're fine, until a bunch of Antifa members showed up and started violence. This is just another example. They were paid to be there, they were paid to do violence so that the Trump supporters would look bad," the subsitute teacher added.
After a quick moment of silence once the teacher is done speaking, the student recording the video immediately jumps in, asking: “"Well, didn't Proud Boys and Trump supporters, weren't they the ones who broke into the Capitol?"
The teacher immediately shuts him down.
“No,” she quickly blurted out. “In fact, there's video showing Trump supporters trying to stop the people breaking windows."
The student fired back again, telling the teacher that most of the people seen storming into the Capitol building were “wearing MAGA hats.”
"Anybody can put on a MAGA hat," the teacher added quickly. "When they're paid to be there and cause a riot, they want to make it look like Trump supporters, so they wear Trump hats and carry Trump flags. Does that make them Trump supporters? No."
The video continues on, with the substitute teacher continuing to spout inaccurate information that has repeatedly been fact-checked from multiple sources and government officials.
Many students can be heard trying to interject, noticing that the teacher is trying to pass off her opinions as facts.
The substitute teacher ends the video by saying, “You cannot have a government overthrow without guns."
As upsetting as it is to see a teacher passing off misinformation and even outright lies to her students, it's equally reassuring to see young people standing up for the truth, like the student recording the video.
This kid is an example of how change can be made and how misinformation can be countered — and how speaking up can inspire others to do the rtight thing.
This required him to be brave and willing to risk embarrassment or even getting in trouble, but he did it. He raised his voice and made a real change.
And that's very hopeful for our country.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Chicago. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Follow her on Instagram.