Teacher Who Went Viral For Taking Down The US Flag Placed On Leave By School

A California teacher, whose TikTok video showing her bragging about taking down the American flag went viral, has been placed on an administrative leave by her school.

Newport Mesa Schools spokesperson Annette Franco told Fox News on Wednesday, "She has been removed from the classroom and placed on administrative leave, as our investigation continues."

In the less than a minute video, the teacher, Kristin Pitzen of Newport Mesa Schools in Orange County, talks about how the Pledge of Allegiance works in her classroom.

"Okay, so during third period, we have announcements and they do the Pledge of Allegiance," she says in the video.

She also adds that she tells her students to stand if they feel like it or don’t stand if they don't feel like it. Then she gets into a whispering mode and says that she took down the US flag in her room because it made her feel uncomfortable. She also shares that on being asked by her students about it, she said they can stand and pledge their allegiance to the pride flag.

In another video, the teacher happily shows off all the pride flags in her classroom, and says that she pledges allegiance to the queers.

On Monday morning, some of the parents held a rally in front of the school to show support for the US flag, NBC Los Angeles reported. One parent, Stephanie Cox, said that she couldn't believe how ignorant she seemed to be. Another parent thought that the teacher should be fired and removed from the district. Some of the parents had asked the Newport Mesa Unified School District to discipline the teacher.

According to a spokesperson, when it comes to flags, the district has a policy that requires schools to hold daily "patriotic exercises," which includes reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Even though they have their own policy, individuals can choose not to participate in the flag salute owing to personal reasons.

Meanwhile, netizens have strongly reacted to the video. One said that she can say whatever she wants to, but blatantly misleading her students is not right, and so needs to be called out.