Holly MatkinNashville, TN – A Tennessee father was arrested last week after he allegedly threatened a teacher for punishing his daughter when she refused to complete an assignment involving a book about a transgender teen girl.
The incident occurred at Stem Preparatory Academy on Foster Avenue at approximately 5:30 p.m. on March 2, the Nashville Police Department (NPD) said in a press release.
Jacob Majok, 48, went to the school to pick up his daughter after her teacher gave her detention for “refusing to do an assignment” related to the book, “PET,” police said.
The science fiction-fantasy novel, written by non-binary author Akwaeke Emezi, features a 15-year-old nonverbal, black, transgender girl who seeks out monsters in her town with the help of a rainbow-colored creature who comes to life from one of her mother’s paintings, according to the Smithtown Library’s website.
“How do you save the world from monsters if no one will admit they exist?” the back cover of the book reads.
Police said Majok, who was upset over the book’s content, “said that if the school continued to teach it, he would return with other parents and blood would be shed,” according to the press release.
“He also specifically threatened the teacher who had given his daughter the assignment,” the NPD said. “Majok acknowledged that he knew his statements would be viewed as threats and he would likely go to jail.”
The teacher’s identity was not immediately released.
Majok is now facing charges of making a threat of mass violence involving a school, according to police.
His initial court appearance date is unknown.
Sandy Malone
