An Arizona high school teacher was reportedly placed on leave after dressing up as a devil and telling students to "Hail Satan."
According to a local news outlet, one of the students in the teacher’s class, sophomore Nathaniel Hamlet, said last week that he noticed the instructor wearing devil horns and pitchfork.
Per 12News, "The teacher involved in the situation told 12News the reason why they were dressed up that way was for Halloween spirit week. They said the theme was dynamic duos and the teacher next door was in an angel costume."
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"Participating in spirit weeks like this is a way for me to engage with my students and bring fun to my classroom," the teacher wrote. "It's truly not any more complicated than that."
Hamlet explained further that the teacher waved the pitchfork over students’ heads as they entered the classroom and said "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 12News.
However, Hamlet did not like the costume and gesture because of his Christian faith.
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Hamlet told 12News, "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."
When the sophomore told his dad Chris Hamlet about the situation with the teacher’s costume, he reported it to administrators. Chris, a former Mesa Public School board candidate, said he then reported it to the Mesa High School principal.
"I was livid because I am a Christian as well, obviously," he said. "What really tipped it over for me is, that he kept telling him no, and he and the teacher kept persisting."
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Chris ran a school board campaign on combating "indoctrination, hypersexualization, and grooming."
"The next day Nathaniel Hamlet said the teacher was not in the classroom and hasn't been back since. Mesa Public Schools said the teacher has been placed on paid administrative leave," 12News reported.
A spokesperson for Mesa Public Schools sent Fox News Digital a statement regarding the situation.
"Mesa Public Schools administration was notified of an alleged incident at Mesa High School late Wednesday (10/25) afternoon after school hours. Our Human Resources department began the investigation Thursday (10/26) morning and placed the teacher on paid administrative leave pending the result of the investigation. The investigation remains ongoing."
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