Teacher resigns after video threatening Trump voters circulates online and sparks backlash
Aspecial education teacher in Connecticut has reportedly resigned after a video posted online appeared to show her threatening violence in response to the presidential election results, sparking widespread backlash.
The video shared on social media showed Chapman Elementary School teacher Annie Dunleavy threatening violence against those who voted for President-elect Donald Trump. The video showed her warning supporters who tried to “test” her would “end on a stretcher, gone forever.” She also encouraged those who backed the candidate to block her on social media.
She has since resigned from her role, local outlet WTNH reported, and expressed regret for posting the controversial video.
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“I was in a moment of high emotion, and I shouldn’t have posted,” Dunleavy told WTNH. “The message came off wrong, which was if this is going to give people the permission in their minds to enact violence against women, I wanted to say, I’m not going down without a fight. I will fight for myself, and if someone was to try to hurt me, I would protect myself.”
Dunleavy’s message outraged community members around Cheshire, which, according to Superintendent Jeffrey Solan in a press release obtained by WTNH and CTInsider, resulted in the district being “inundated with calls and emails” from people outside the local area.
Local media reported that Solan said the video was shared privately on the teacher’s Snapchat and that she had been placed on temporary leave amid an ongoing probe.
