Teacher on leave after allegedly dressing as the devil, telling kids ‘hail Satan’

An Arizona high school teacher has been removed from the classroom for allegedly dressing up as the devil and greeting students entering his classroom with “hail Satan.”

Mesa High School sophomore Nathaniel Hamlet claims his teacher walked into class Wednesday wearing devil horns and carrying a pitchfork, which he waved over students’ heads as they entered the room to the “hail Satan” greeting.

“Some people thought it was funny, some people didn’t like it, some people were like ‘whatever,’ they just blew it off,” Hamlet told 12 News.

It wasn’t clear if the teacher was dressed up in anticipation of Halloween or because it was school spirit week — but Hamlet, a devout Christian, said he was offended and repeatedly asked the educator to stop.

“I said, ‘Don’t do that to me’ and I pushed it [the pitchfork] away maybe three or four times,” the teen said.

“And he still said it and still did it,” he said.

Hamlet then told his dad, Chris Hamlet, a former Mesa Public School board candidate, who reported the incident to the principal.

“Of course, I was livid because I am a Christian as well,” the older Hamlet said. “What really tipped it over for me is, he kept telling him no, and the teacher kept persisting.”

The teacher, who has not been publicly identified, was not in the classroom the next day and has not been back since.

Mesa Public Schools said the educator has been placed on paid administrative leave while they investigate.

“I feel like that’s fair, but he did it repeatedly to everyone,” the teen said. “So I feel like he should probably get fired.”

His father agreed, telling the outlet, “I don’t think it’s OK, joking or not. If you’re gonna keep the Christian stuff out, then you got to keep the devil-worshipping stuff out.”

Other parents who did not want to give their names to 12 News said that while they didn’t agree with what the teacher did, they felt he shouldn’t be fired over the incident.

In a statement, Mesa Public Schools said they are currently investigating what happened.

“Mesa Public Schools administration was notified of the alleged incident at Mesa High School late Wednesday afternoon after school hours,” the district said.

“Our Human Resources department began the investigation Thursday morning and placed the teacher on paid administrative leave pending the result of the investigation. The investigation remains ongoing.”