Parents angry after Veterans Day school assembly in Utah veers into politics, COVID

An annual Veterans Day school assembly in Utah went off the rails when a teacher attacked socialism and COVID-19 precautions in his speech to children, some parents say.

The teacher, who is an Air Force veteran, spoke Monday, Nov. 8, at a Dry Creek Elementary School assembly honoring veterans in Lehi, KSTU reported.

Fellow teacher Katie Sandberg told the TV station the man, who has spoken at the school’s event for the past three years, included additional information this year on “bullies” and the threat of socialism, while touching on today’s “political heat.”

A photo of the teacher speaking in uniform shows a slide reading, “Many college students think socialist/communist ideas sound appealing. ... Talk to someone who has escaped a socialist country. Ask them about how corrupt the government is, how they control your life, how they harm and kill innocent children,” The Deseret News reported.

The teacher, who runs a website opposed to COVID-19 mandates, also spoke out against vaccines and other pandemic precautions, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

“We’re just kind of concerned that there’s some pictures shown that were of some Communist leaders who are Asian,” parent Taylor Roberts told KSTU. “Our son’s Korean so he came home and said, ‘He’s Korean like me.’”

A parent told The Deseret News that the teacher also called the U.S. government a “bully” for imposing vaccine mandates and encouraged children to “fight back.”

In a statement, an Alpine School District spokesman called the speech an “isolated incident” that is “unfortunate, concerning, and is being investigated by school and district administration,” The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

In a letter to parents Wednesday, Principal Patrice Worlton said some “inaccuracies” have been reported about the presentation, KSTU reported, but said the school has created new protocols to keep future assemblies “age appropriate and politically neutral.”