VIDEO: Prince William teacher on leave after Capitol riot comments during class
WOODBRIDGE, Va. (FOX 5 DC) - A Prince William County teacher is on leave after admitting to students he was at the riot at the United States Capitol on January 6.
Benjamin Plummer teaches social studies and is a soccer coach at Fred M. Lynn Middle School. A student recorded Plummer during an online virtual class as he was sharing his experiences about the deadly attack at the Capitol and expressing his political beliefs. She posted the video to Twitter.
The student’s mother said it made her daughter and classmates feel uncomfortable. She added she is not upset that Plummer participated in the demonstration, but that he is sharing his personal opinions with young students.
In the video, Plummer said: "I was there. That's what I witnessed. That's what I saw. And I heard the media just blamed Trump supporters the whole time, and I knew that it was a setup… You have Trump supporters that are incredibly peaceful. They’re all Christians, they believe in God, they’re not there for damage or to hurt things."
FOX 5’s Sierra Fox knocked on Plummer’s front door Friday to ask him about the controversial comments he made during that virtual class. He did not answer, but a woman did and she said "no comment."
There are mixed feelings from Prince William County residents about whether or not Plummer should face disciplinary actions for his comments.
"Unless he broke into the building, I don’t think that there should be any type of bad outcome," said Ron Saxe.
"He has his rights. He has his opinion. He was off duty. It’s not like he took a student with him," said Chiquette Veard.
The Prince William County NAACP President, Cozy Bailey, wants the school district to take one step further and fire Plummer.
"Unfortunately, I am not surprised this occurred in Prince William and it will probably occur in other places with the incisive lies that we’ve heard from the ex-president. He has unleashed some really unnaturally, unholy, and horrible things in folks that we had not seen before," said Bailey.
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At this time, there is no evidence of teachers facing disciplinary actions in other school districts in Virginia, Maryland, or Washington, DC.
Some school districts did say their employees may have attended the rally, but it would be hard for them to know.
However, reports show a teacher in Pennsylvania has been suspended and another in Florida was fired after ranting to students about attending the violent demonstration at the Capitol.
Bailey wants Prince William County Public Schools to conduct an investigation into all employees. The school district said they are aware of reports and all allegations will be investigated and handled according to their policies.
This is a developing story. Stay with Fox 5 for updates.