Art teacher fired after parents reveal ‘hail Satan,’ other distur

08/23/2023

2 2 minutes read

An Illinois art teacher has been fired after parents made school officials aware of social media posts that read “Hail Satan” and indicated the teacher is “violent and hurtful.”

During a special board meeting Sunday, officials with the District 33C Board of Education in Homer Glen, located about 30 miles southwest of Chicago, dismissed a teacher who was identified by conservative influencer Libs of TikTok as “Kris Martin.”

Video from the meeting shared by Libs of TikTok showed the decision was made to dismiss art teacher Kristopher Martin “effective immediately.”

A statement provided to a local Patch reporter said officials took “additional background investigation which resulted in the discovery of new information, but relevant to the employment of the individual in question.”

Martin first came to the notice of school officials after parents shared troubling social media posts from his account, all of which date back to 2018 and 2020, including one in which he claimed to have “bipolar disorder with mania and psychosis.”

One post read: “I have done things in conditions of psychosis and mania that have been violent and hurtful. But I am NOT my disease. I am ME! And I know ME! And I LOVE ME! #mentalhealthawarenessmonth #endthestigma”

Another post included an image of a pentagram with the number “666,” while another showed Martin wearing a “Satan respects pronouns” shirt with the caption “Hail Satan.”

.@Homer33c just hired this person as an elementary school teacher. These are some of he/they’s posts:

Would you be comfortable with this person teaching your kids? pic.twitter.com/Y0M4qcyJ7J

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 17, 2023

In an April 2018 post on Instagram, Martin shared results from an online “personality quiz” that included the heading “999% a—” and a caption that read in part, “Satan has nothing on you. The residents of hell are running a campaign for you to take your rightful place as their king.”

An older Facebook cover photo showed a young lady who was covered in blood with two blood-stained hands held out menacingly above her.

Following the announcement to dismiss Martin, Superintendent Craig Schoppe apologized to the community.

“As a parent myself, I understand that our families trust me to ensure high-quality education and to hire the best staff to provide that education,” Schoppe said. “I realize that I may have lost that trust from many of you, but I will work to regain it.”

Several parents also spoke out, with some calling for board members to resign.

“Thank you for firing the guy, ’cause that’s the first step to fixing this problem,” said one dad.

“This hire shows incompetence and negligence. Any voter who voted for or any board member who advocated for this hire should resign immediately,” said another man wearing a cross necklace.

The school district is set to hold a board meeting Tuesday and urged community members to attend and share their concerns.