Who is Nathaniel Hamlet? Arizona teacher placed on leave after student alleges he dressed as devil and greeted children with ‘Hail Satan’
MESA, ARIZONA: A high school teacher from Arizona was placed on leave after he reportedly chose to dress up a the Devil during a Halloween celebration.
The teacher stood at the classroom entrance and greeted his students entering the class with ‘Hail Satan.’
Nathaniel Hamlet, Mesa High School sophomore told 12 News that the incident took place on last Wednesday, October 25, when the teacher wore devil horns and waved his pitchfork over students which he carried along with him.
“Some people thought it was funny, some people didn’t like it, some people were like ‘whatever,’ they just blew it off,” said Hamlet.
No clarity on why the teacher dressed as the devil
However, it is still not fully clear whether it was in anticipation of Halloween or for the school spirit week. But, one thing that’s for sure was Hamlet, who is a devout Christian, felt offended by the whole act. He even asked her teacher to stop it several times.
“I said, ‘Don’t do that to me’ and I pushed it [the pitchfork] away maybe three or four times,” the teen said, adding “And he still said it and still did it,” he said.
Disturbed Nathaniel later told his father, Chris, about the incident. The Hamlet senior is also a former Mesa Public School board candidate. The incident was eventually reported to the principal.
“Of course, I was livid because I am a Christian as well,” Nathaniel's father said.
“What really tipped it over for me is, he kept telling him no, and the teacher kept persisting," he added.
Nathaniel Hamlet's teacher is placed on leave as investigation continues
The teacher in question is yet to be named publicly and he didn’t show up the next day in the class.
Mesa Public Schools updated that the educator is presently on paid administrative leave as it investigates the incident.
“I feel like that’s fair, but he did it repeatedly to everyone,” Nathaniel said, adding “So I feel like he should probably get fired.”
Chris told the outlet, “I don’t think it’s OK, joking or not. If you’re gonna keep the Christian stuff out, then you got to keep the devil-worshipping stuff out.”
“Mesa Public Schools administration was notified of the alleged incident at Mesa High School late Wednesday afternoon after school hours,” the Mesa Public Schools released a statement.
“Our Human Resources department began the investigation Thursday morning and placed the teacher on paid administrative leave pending the result of the investigation. The investigation remains ongoing,” the statement continued.