Parent: Son booted from online class for pro-Trump comment

TACOMA — A school district in Tacoma is investigating after a parent said her son was briefly kicked out of a virtual class chatroom for saying he admired President Donald Trump.

Elsy Kusander’s son, a sixth grader at Keithley Middle School in Parkland, was attending virtual class Oct. 2 when his teacher asked students to name a person they admired, Kusander told 770 KTTH Radio.

The News Tribune reports that Kusander’s son wrote in the classroom chat that he admired Trump “because he is making America great again. And because he is the best president the United States of America could ever, ever have. And he built the wall so terrorists couldn’t come into in the U.S. Trump is the best person in the world. And that’s why I had admire him.”

Kusander told KTTH Radio her son was briefly disconnected from the class, and his comment was erased from the chat by the teacher. He was invited to rejoin class several minutes later.

Franklin Pierce School District spokesperson Joel Zylstra told the newspaper the district is investigating the incident.

“We’re still assembling pieces of what happened,” said Zylstra.

Zylstra also said that since the incident has been shared the teacher has received threats, and district officials are worried about his safety.

“Our goal at the end of the day is to create a safe and equitable learning environment for all students,” Zylstra said.