California teacher who pledged allegiance to ANTIFA is given three years’ pay to resign
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A California teacher who displayed an Antifa flag in his classroom and said he wanted to turn his students into ‘revolutionaries’ is receiving three years of salary in exchange for his resignation.
Parents at Inderkum High School in Sacramento had called on the district to fire AP Government teacher Gabriel Gipe after he was caught on video in September discussing the flag with Project Veritas, a far-right media group.
‘I have an Antifa flag on my [classroom] wall and a student complained about that — he said it made him feel uncomfortable. Well, this [Antifa flag] is meant to make fascists feel uncomfortable, so if you feel uncomfortable, I don’t really know what to tell you,’ Gipe said.
Gabriel Gipe, a California teacher who displayed an Antifa flag in his classroom and said he wanted to turn his students into ‘revolutionaries’ is receiving three years of salary in exchange for his resignation
Parents at Inderkum High School in Sacramento had called on the district to fire AP Government teacher Gabriel Gipe after he was caught on video in September discussing the flag with Project Veritas, a far-right media group
‘I have 180 days to turn [students] into revolutionaries.’
At the time, he was put on unpaid leave and was set to be fired by the school district for ‘clear violations of political activity.’
In January, about four months later, school district officials paid Gipe $190,000 to quit without a legal battle, according to KCRA 3.
Gabriel Gipe displayed an Antifa flag, left, and a poster of Chinese Communist Party leader Mao Zedong in his classroom at Inderkum High School, in Sacramento, California
Gipe’s annual salary was around $60,000. After taxes, he walked away from the job with about $100,000.
Natomas Unified School District said in a statement: ‘We have put this behind us and have moved forward. What’s most important right now is welcoming our students back to the start of a new school year.’
Garbriel Gipe was caught talking about his political ideology with Antifa and how he discusses it with students in a conversation with Project Veritas, a far-right media outlet
The teacher also had posters of Chinese Communist Party leader Mao Zedong in the classroom and had offered extra-credit to students who attended protests, the New York Post reports.
Gipe also had stamps with images of Josef Stalin, Fidel Castro and Kim Jung Un to mark student’s school work this year.
The Natomas Unified School District said that while it understood the context in which Gipe was interviewed by Project Veritas, steps were taken to remove the teacher from the district.
‘Natomas Unified will be taking the legally required next steps to place the teacher on unpaid leave and fire the teacher.
‘The actions and approaches taken by one teacher do not represent the overall staff, students and school community. To those who have felt uncomfortable at any time in the past 3 years, we apologize,’ the district added.
The district also said Gipe’s encouragements for students to attend protests for extra credit were both ‘unprofessional and irresponsible.’
Gabriel Gipe, pictured wearing a derogatory shirt against police during a protest. The teacher offered his students extra credit if they attended protests, too
Project Veritas attempted a follow up interview with Gipe about the calls for him to be fired from his teaching job
Project Veritas has declined to release the full, unedited version of their interview with Gipe. The outlet has been accused in the past of publishing misleading content.
Gipe had said he was harassed by the media outlet when they did a follow up report on him, stopping him on the street as he was walking his dog.
The move to fire Gipe came after parents complained to the school district on Wednesday during a board meeting, urging the board to fire Gipe.
‘The school district has failed in my opinion,’ Luis Ortega, a resident of the district whose son recently graduated from Inderkum High School, told the NY Post.
‘Everything has been brought to light and like everyone is saying, it doesn’t end with Mr. Gabriel Gipe. There are some deep-rooted issues within the district.’
Gipe was put on unpaid leave from Inderkum High School, pictured, and despite initial calls for his firing, he was paid three years’ salary in exchange for his resignation
Paizly Gomez, another parent in the district, said that Gipe crossed a line with what he was doing in the classroom.
‘I’m all for freedom of speech,’ Paizly Gomez, a concerned parent, told KCRA 3. ‘I’m not going to deny that, but, when you are a teacher, your job is academics. You are not here for morals, values, political views — anything like that is not welcome in the school unless it’s a private school.’
In their investigation into the incident, the district said Gipe ultimately violated 2020 guidelines that prohibited teachers from certain political actions while in school.