Educators face backlash, firings after posts lament Trump surviving WHCA dinner shooting
Education professionals from across the country are facing backlash after posting reactions online voicing disappointment that President Donald Trump was not killed in the Saturday shooting during the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner.
"Man, there's been a few creators on here saying that, like Friday or yesterday could have been the day, and then I wake up to that news, but not that news," a teacher for BrightPath identified as Corrine Baum said in the video. "We're going to have to pay really close attention to what they're trying to actually distract us from."
In a Monday statement to Fox News Digital, a spokesperson for BrightPath, an early learning and childcare provider in Cincinnati, said that Baum had been fired.
"Our organization does not tolerate and explicitly condemns any calls for violence," the spokesperson said. "The comments made online by this individual are deeply inconsistent with our values. The individual in question has been terminated."
Baum declined to comment to Fox News Digital.
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Patrick Meyer, a social studies teacher at Kaukauna High School in Kaukauna, Wisconsin, said in a social media post that previous presidential assassins would be disappointed in Cole Tomas Allen, the alleged shooter who was arrested Saturday night after authorities said he opened fire at the Washington Hilton Hotel during the dinner, which was Trump's first time at the event as president.
In a since-deleted post on X, Meyer wrote, "I am not impressed with recent presidential assassins. It's f---ing embarrassing! Booth, Guiteau, Czolgosz, Oswald must all be spinning in their graves! MAGAA (make Americans great assassins again)! Sad!"
In a Monday post on Facebook, Kaukauna Area School District said Meyer was placed on administrative leave.
"The Kaukauna Area School District has been made aware of a situation involving an employee’s social media post," the school district said in the Facebook post. "The District has placed the employee on administrative leave and is taking additional action to review the matter in accordance with its policies and procedures."
Fox News Digital reached out to Meyer and Kaukauna High School for comment.
Francesca Zelnick, who was identified as an institutional data manager and registrar in a screenshot from the Friends’ Central School in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, appeared to post on Instagram Threads both before and after Saturday’s shooting.
One post appearing to be on Threads read, "I hope it happens at the Correspondents’ Dinner tonight." Another post read, "Welp, I guess someone else did too."
In a statement to Fox News Digital, the Friends’ Central School said, "We are a community founded on the idea of respect for all people. An employee's personal social media account contained a message not reflective of our school’s values. This is a personnel matter and is being addressed."
Fox News Digital reached out to Zelnick for comment.
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Sandy Strand, who is identified as the director of student services on the website of the Prescott School District in Prescott, Wisconsin, also appeared to express sadness that Trump was not killed in Saturday’s shooting.
"Ugh. They missed again," Strand wrote in a social media post with an eyeroll emoji.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Jim Reif, the district’s superintendent of schools, said the district cannot comment on an ongoing personnel investigation, but shared a statement from the district, which said, in part, that it is "aware of a social media post made by a district staff member regarding the recent shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. We want to be clear that the views expressed in that post are not supported by the district and do not reflect our values. We promote positive dialog and condemn violence of any kind."
The statement continued that, "The district is addressing this matter in accordance with our board policies and established procedures."
Fox News Digital reached out to Strand for comment.
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Trump, first lady Melania Trump, and several senior Cabinet officials were evacuated Saturday after shots rang out at the hotel. A Secret Service agent was hit but survived, and there were no fatalities.
Allen, the suspect, is facing life in prison. Fox News Digital reported Allen’s goal was to target Trump administration officials in his thwarted attack, according to law enforcement sources.
On Wednesday, the Department of Justice released photos of Allen showing him inside what appeared to be his hotel room prior to the shooting, with weapons strapped to his body.