The Broward County school district is looking into allegations that a Marjory Stoneman Douglas High teacher compared a conservative student to Hitler during his class.
The allegations center around Greg Pittman, a history teacher who got into a lengthy Twitter debate with junior Kyle Kashuv earlier this week.
Kashuv wasn’t in the class, but he said at least three students told him that Pittman called him the “next Hitler.”
“School leaders take all matters involving students and staff seriously,” said Nadine Drew, a spokeswoman for Broward County Schools. “They are aware of the allegations and are looking into the matter.”
Pittman couldn’t be reached, despite attempts by phone and text.
The allegations are the latest turmoil to erupt at the school since the Feb. 14 massacre that killed 17.
Pittman has been an outspoken advocate for gun control and helped students organize a Walk for Solidarity last month in Parkland to protest gun violence.
He attracted national attention earlier this week after he criticized Kashuv, a staunch defender of gun rights. On April 20, the anniversary of the Columbine massacre, Kashuv posted on Twitter that he fired a semi-automatic rifle at a gun range with his dad.
Kashuv said he was interrogated by school security officials and law enforcement as a result, before they determined his actions weren’t a safety threat.
Pittman defended the district’s actions on Twitter and questioned Kashuv’s judgment.
“After a mass shooting at a school, you don’t have to be the sharpest tack in the box to understand when another student posts a photo of an assault weapon why school security personnel and police might ask questions,” tweeted Pittman.
Several students said Pittman made the Hitler comparison during a class discussion about the events. Kashuv said one of the students plans to go on the record in an interview Friday with Fox News.
“I find it utterly vile that he’d call a Jew the next Hitler,” said Kashuv, whose family is from Israel. “It’s also quite telling that he doesn’t know that Hitler took the people’s weaponry and I want more law-abiding citizens to have firearms.”
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