Sandy MaloneHighlands Ranch, CO – A middle school teacher is facing termination after she posted tweets that incorrectly identified one of the boys in the viral video of Covington high school students being harassed at the Lincoln Memorial.
Michelle Grissom, a 7th Grade Social Studies teacher at Mountain Range Middle School, has been on paid leave since Jan. 20, two days after the mischaracterized interaction between 16-year-old Nick Sandmann and an elderly Native American went viral, The Complete Colorado reported.
Like so many others, Grissom saw the first video released and rushed to judgement. But she went a step further when she thought she recognized one of the teenage boys in the video.
Instead of confirming the boy’s identity or referring the matter to the school district, she took matters into her own hands and doxxed him.
“His name is Jay Jackson. His twitter account is closed to non followers so we don’t interfere with his training in the #HitlerYouth,” Grissom tweeted.
When Jackson’s father saw the posting later that day, he went ballistic and responded immediately.
“I assure you this is not Jay Jackson,” John Jackson posted in reply to Grissom. “He played in a varsity basketball game last night in Park Hills Kentucky and another game today in Middletown Ohio.”
He asked Grissom to take the post down, but she refused and changed her Twitter settings to private.
John Jackson sent another message, this time to the Douglas County School District, to ask for help in forcing Grissom to take down the post and his son’s picture.
“…she demanded proof, proof sent she finally acquiesced and apologized but has refused to take down her post and my son’s picture… I hope this is dealt with appropriately and swiftly… my son was harassed and bullied as a result of this teacher rush to judgement … totally abhorrent behavior and inexcusable actions that need to have consequences… SHE IS TEACHING YOUR STUDENTS!!!” he tweeted to the school district.
On Feb. 5, KDVR reported that the school district’s superintendent had asked the school board to terminate Grissom’s employment.
Grissom has been employed by Douglas County schools since 1999, according to The Complete Colorado.
“I understand that many in the community have strong opinions regarding Ms. Grissom and the circumstances giving rise to my recommendation,” Douglas County School Superintendent Thomas Tucker wrote in a statement, KDVR reported.
“The District respects those opinions. However, to ensure that the process complies with Colorado law, while the dismissal process is ongoing, Douglas County School District will not provide further comment,” Tucker wrote.
Jay Jackson was not the only student to suffer a misidentification and doxxing as a result of the viral video.
Online social justice warriors quickly misidentified another teenage boy up front as Michael Hodges, a high school junior from Cincinnati who wasn’t even in Washington, DC on the day the incident occurred.
It was not known whether the misidentified teen even attended Covington Catholic High school.
A vague resemblance to the image of the boy in the video was enough for the Twitter mob to go after Michael Hodges full throttle, according to the Washington Examiner.
First, they doxxed Michael and his parents and relatives, and went after the family business.
Then they contacted Cincinnati University, where Michael intends to pursue a culinary arts degree, and demanded the college rescind the student’s acceptance.