An Alabama math teacher who developed a hypothetical assassination plot against President Obama to teach angles and lines in a geometry class will not face charges, but may lose his job.
In the lesson, students at Corner High School in Jefferson County, Ala. were tasked to determine the most effective angles for shooting the president.
The students were given instructions such as, “If you’re in this building, you would need to take this angle to shoot the president,” Joseph Brown, a student in the class, told The Birmingham News.
Superintendent of Jefferson County Schools Phil Hammonds initially said there were no plans to fire the teacher, Gregory Harrison. However, once news of the lesson became public, Harrison was put on paid leave from his job on May 18 and could now face termination.
“As a district, we are embarrassed by his actions and what he said,” Hammonds told the News. “There is no place in our society for a person to make these comments.”
Harrison could not be reached for comment and reporters who tried to speak with the principal of Corner High School were referred to the school’s attorney, who also could not be reached, according to the Associated Press.
The school has about 1,000 students and is in a majority White, rural area of Jefferson County. Birmingham, a predominantly African-American city, is approximately 15 miles northwest of the county.
Secret Service agents spoke with Harrison and closed the case after determining that the president was not in any harm as a result of the lesson.
Hammond said his office has been bombarded with phone calls from concerned citizens who were dissatisfied that no disciplinary action was initially taken against Harrison.
“There is nothing that can be said to rationalize what was said,” Hammond said. “We take this very seriously.”
