A Cheshire special education teacher has resigned following a video she posted to a private group on Snapchat threatening anyone who voted for Donald Trump was obtained and posted by the massive social media account Libs of TikTok and went viral.
“Just because you won doesn’t mean you’re in the clear,” teacher Annie Dunleavy said in her profanity-laced video. “Just please, please don’t test your gangster on me because you will end on a stretcher. Gone forever. So serious.”
“People of color, and poor people, and gay people, and all the people I care about aren’t going to be safe in America,” Dunleavy. “Neither the f**k are you.”
As of this writing, the video has 2.4 million views, 7,000 comments, and 27,000 retweets. Posts on X made by the school that had nothing to do with this issue, suddenly had hundreds of posts calling for Dunleavy to be fired.
The school system of Cheshire – where 43 percent of votes cast were for Donald Trump — was “inundated” with social media messages and emails, mostly from outside the school district, according to Cheshire Superintendent Jeffrey Solan, who sent a message to staff and parents.
“Unfortunately, it came to my attention over the weekend that someone had taken a video of one of our teachers who shared what she intended to be a private message to her group on Snapchat. She was expressing her personal opinion and not those of the Cheshire Public Schools,” Solan wrote. “The Cheshire Public Schools is reviewing this situation as a personnel matter and as such we are following all applicable laws. That being said, it is immediately clear that it will be impossible to conduct business as usual for our students and staff without temporarily removing the teacher from the building, so we have done so until the outcome of the investigation.”
Solan says the school has not received any threats but will maintain a police presence at the school out of “an abundance of caution.” Similar political postings and upheavals on social media have resulted in threats to other school systems in the past.
Sen. Rob Sampson, R-Wolcott, whose district includes Cheshire, issued a statement calling the teacher’s behavior “deeply troubling” and saying that “such behavior must not be tolerated in any school system.”
“Educators bear the vital responsibility to foster a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment for all students, regardless of their or their parents’ beliefs. The remarks in this video raise serious concerns about this individual’s ability to uphold that standard and protect the wellbeing of students in her care,” Sampson said. “I urge Cheshire Public Schools to take swift and decisive action to ensure that all educators in our district uphold the highest standards of professionalism and respect.”
It is also not the first time Libs of TikTok has made a Connecticut school the focus of unwanted social media attention, after the account tweeted a story about a tampon dispenser placed in the Brookfield boy’s bathroom to comply with state law was torn down after only twenty minutes in an act of vandalism.
Solan acknowledged the “tense” political climate during the past few months leading up to the presidential election and wrote that while “civic engagement is certainly strongly encouraged… an important part of that process, however, is respecting the position of others.”
“We will continue to educate our children about appropriate civil discourse and maintain disciplinary standards when discourse becomes ridicule or harassment,” Solan wrote. “I would encourage civil conversation and ask that everyone, particularly adults work to try and bring down the temperature for the benefit of all Americans, but especially our students.”
**This article was updated with comments by Sen. Rob Sampson and to reflect that Dunleavy has now resigned**
Was this article helpful?
Topics on this page
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
What an abominable statement from the school. “Unfortunately someone exposed our teacher’s crazy rhetoric so now we’re all victims.”
No, the proper response should be “Unfortunately we hired an unhinged lunatic who should be nowhere near children so we fired her.”
Yeah, you didnt get your way so your going to kill someone that doesnt agree with your opinion, really? Your unhinged mind needs therapy.
The country elected a president who incited an insurrection with “crazy rhetoric” spoken from a podium. This was an individual (who happens to be a teacher) venting in a small group forum presumed private. It was not for public consumption. If the teacher brought those views and language into the classroom then the uproar is justified. If not, get over your self righteous selves. Special shout out to the politicos jumping on the bandwagon.
Right. I’m sure if the roles were reversed, you’d have the very same empathy if it were a trump supporter saying this about kamala voters had she won. Do better.
He didn’t “incite” anything. Get your facts straight
the superintendent seems to blame Libs of Tik Toc instead of the unhinged teacher. She made violent threats, and said she was serious. She needs to be fired and maybe prosecuted. I’d get rid of that soft superintendent too. The message he’s sending to the kids is, it’s ok as long as no one finds out and complains. Disgusting.
Yes, exactly my thought.
The community and parents of the current students and future students in that school need to stand together! You donot want her teaching your child for 6 to 8 hours 5 days a week. She’s unhinged. Needs help. The community needs to stand together and demand her to be fired!
We are trying our best! We are emailing and calling nonstop.
This teacher shared her intention to put Trump supporters on a stretcher.
“Gone. Forever. So serious.”
How could a school knowingly expose their students to this individual after she threatens bodily harm/death to roughly 43% of the school community?
There is zero justification for not terminating employment.
The superintendent said “she was stating her opinion” and “this video was sent to friends and someone in that group linked it out”. We’re furious!! That video was not just an opinion it was a threat. This is why we (the parents) chose not to tell our kids who we voted for. The kids (same school at this teacher) were bulling other students of the opposite voting party then them.
Would you want this teacher influencing children on resolving conflict? She will regret this for the rest of her life, but the students and their parents won’t have to regret the influence she has on children. She impulsively went on a rant. They had to fire her. Would she threaten the school if she disagreed with policy?
Unfortunately this is just the tip of the iceberg. Typical rhetoric from teachers in this town. Been that way for years. My kids and grandkids have gone to Cheshire schools as did I, the teachers are left wing flakes. You can’t succeed as teacher here unless you are a follower of the way.