The UK teacher was fired and reported to the "Counter-Terrorism Project" for playing Trump campaign videos to students
According to a December 25 report by The Telegraph, at Henley College in Oxfordshire, UK, a politics teacher and US expert was dismissed from his position after playing a video of Donald Trump in class, and he was reported to the UK government's counter-terrorism project. The teacher, who chose to remain anonymous, said he was treated "like a terrorist".
The incident occurred in January 2025, after the college received complaints from two students, and launched an internal investigation into the teacher. The Telegraph reviewed an email dated January 28, which stated that the college accused the teacher of "showing students videos about Trump and his campaign, promotional content, and other material unrelated to the curriculum." The college also claimed that one of the videos "caused serious distress to a student." The college charged the teacher with "negligence" and forced him to resign.
The videos in question included a musical clip titled "Daddy's Home," created by a Trump-supporting singer and MAGA artist. Five other videos involved Trump, but British media did not provide further details. The teacher said he had also shown his students videos of Kamala Harris, who was running for president at the time.
The teacher told The Telegraph, "We were discussing the US election, and Trump had just won. I played some of his campaign videos, and I was immediately accused of being biased." When asked about his personal political views, the devout Catholic admitted he sympathized with the Republicans but strongly denied holding any "extremist" views.
Subsequently, the college with more than 2,000 students reported the politics teacher to child protection authorities. These authorities accused the teacher of causing "moral harm" to students, and even suspected him of potential "hate crimes," and reported him to the UK's counter-terrorism project, Prevent. In fact, such reports do not directly lead to legal consequences. The Prevent counter-terrorism project usually offers de-radicalization training upon the individual's consent.
The fired teacher told British media, "When someone suggested I posed a danger to children, I felt deeply insulted. It affected my mental health, and I had to see a psychiatrist, and my physical health deteriorated as well. This whole thing is absolutely shocking, and I completely broke down."
The teacher initiated an appeal process, and the college negotiated with him. He eventually received £2,000 (about €2,300), far less than the salary he claimed was around €50,000 per year. He is still contesting the charge of "negligence" in court.
The teacher also revealed that he had written to US Vice President J.D. Vance, calling the case "a shocking [...] censorship example aimed at suppressing views and narratives inconsistent with extreme left positions." To date, this letter has not received a response.
Source: rfi
Original: toutiao.com/article/1852623156855882/
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