The Moreno Valley Unified School District placed a history teacher on leave after he gave a profanity-filled lecture to his students about Donald Trump the day after the former president won a second term.
The Valley View High School history teacher called Trump a “rapist draft-dodging coward” during an emotionally distraught lecture on Wednesday, according to a recording of the lecture that was posted to X by a conservative commentator.
The teacher — whom the district has not publicly identified, but whom the commentator on X named as Maximiliano C. Perez — told his students that Black and Latino voters did not support Kamala Harris because she has “a vagina and uterus” and that Latino voters who support Trump want to be white.
“This sh— is not a f— game,” the teacher told his students. “Can you end up with no human rights? Yes. Will it happen to you? Most likely not. Which is a good thing, but has Donald Trump quoted Hitler? Yes. Does he embody some of Hitler’s ideas? Yes.”
A spokesperson with the Moreno Valley Unified School District told news station KABC the teacher was placed on administrative leave pending a review of the incident.
“We were recently made aware of an incident at one of our high schools, in which a staff member’s discussion about the election results turned unprofessional,” the spokesperson told the news station. “We do not condone the behavior that occurred, and an immediate investigation has been launched.”
The district did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A petition on Change.org to reinstate the teacher, referred to as Mr. Perez, has over 1,200 signatures in support of him returning to class. The school’s website lists a Maximiliano Perez as an AP history teacher.
The teacher’s union representing employees from the Moreno Valley Unified School District did not respond to requests for comment about the teacher’s status, and the teacher could not be immediately reached for comment.
At least two students who spoke to KABC said they understood their teacher’s lecture was meant to frame the election results and he apologized to several students after class.
“I think they’re trying to make him seem like a bad guy because of what he said,” student Mykael James told the news station. She was in class during her teacher’s lecture. “I know it was very strong toned, but that’s how he gives his lecture as a professor.”
“It’s just devastating to know that they’re trying to get him out all because of his opinion,” student Sarah Ghawi told the news station.
Students plan a walkout in protest of the school district’s decision this week.
