Georgia gov candidate demands ‘Anti-Trump’ teacher be fired

Georgia gubernatorial candidate and state Sen. Michael Williams released a statement demanding that Cherokee County teacher Lyn Orletsky be fired after she told students to leave her classroom for wearing “Make America Great Again” shirts.

“Liberal activists across the country are on a mission to silence conservatives on college campuses, places of employment, and community forums. Now they are taking their fight against free speech to Georgia public high schools,” said Williams, who has made his “fierce” support of President Donald Trump a centerpiece of his campaign.

“Lyn Orletsky, and other liberal activist teachers, I’m putting you on notice: If you suppress free speech in the classroom, you will hear from me and many citizens until you are fired or resign. The First Amendment will not be destroyed in Georgia!”

Orletsky was captured on video in early September telling two River Ridge High School students to “go back” and said that because “you can’t wear a swastika to school,” the students couldn’t wear Make America Great Again shirts either.

“I don’t care what you do in other classes,” she can be heard saying, before another student asks, “Wait, so both of them have to flip their shirts inside out, because it’s got Trump on it?”

“Because it says ‘Make America Great Again,’” Orletsky responds. “The neo-Nazis — I’m not saying about Trump, but the slogan.”

The video was posted on Turning Point News before spreading rapidly across the internet.

Cherokee County Schools spokeswoman Barbara Jacoby told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the instructor was wrong to ask the students to leave and that the shirts did not violate the dress code in any way.

“Superintendent of Schools Brian V. Hightower is deeply sorry that this incident happened in one of our schools,” Jacoby said. “It does not reflect his expectation that all students be treated equally and respectfully by our employees.”

In an interview with WSB-TV, Orletsky said she was concerned about the comfort of other students in the class, particularly after the violent clashes in Charlottesville, Virginia.

“The whole ‘Make America Great Again’ slogan was really hijacked by a lot of hate groups,” Orletsky said. “I explained to them, 'Support your president. That's great. It's fine to have a President Trump T-shirt," she said. "I never had any intentions of it being political at all. I care about my students and I want them to feel safe and comfortable.”

Orletsky was placed on leave and the school hasn’t announced further action, but state senator Michael Williams said he would not be satisfied unless the school district terminated the instructor, and planned a protest outside the school for Sept. 27.

“The school attempted to deceive the people of Georgia with claims the teacher had been ‘removed’ from the classroom. I’ve now learned she is simply being moved to a new classroom of children to discriminate against. She must be fired and immediately. No other resolution is acceptable. Had this been about Hillary, ANTIFA would have already burned the school down,” Williams said.

ANTIFA is a loosely defined collection of liberal groups that purport to oppose fascism and conservative policies. Some ANTIFA groups have been implicated in violent protests, including those in Charlottesville.

Willians said he would cancel the protest only if the school board fires Orletsky in a special meeting.

“They refused to terminate her at the previous meeting, forcing us to call attention now. If the school is so concerned by our protest, do the right thing and we'll stay home. Otherwise, the protest will go on as planned.”

This story was originally published September 22, 2017 at 10:51 AM with the headline "Georgia gov candidate demands ‘Anti-Trump’ teacher be fired."