Anchorage teacher put on administrative leave after post by prominent right-wing social media account

An Anchorage high school teacher was put on administrative leave Thursday after a post made the day before by an incendiary social media account with millions of followers.

The original post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, included the full name of a Dimond High School teacher along with a short video clip that shows the teacher in a classroom. The account, Libs of TikTok, accuses them of being dressed inappropriately and identifies the teacher as nonbinary. The post has since been shared nearly 10,000 times, and has also been shared widely on other platforms and amplified by local websites. A later post said the teacher had shared sexual content online.

An Anchorage School District spokesman on Thursday said the district would not answer further questions about why the teacher had been put on administrative leave, citing the ongoing investigation.

The spokesman said threats had been made against the principal and the teacher after the posts, and that those threats have been referred to the Anchorage Police Department.

Libs of TikTok is a prominent far-right social media account with 2.9 million followers on X that frequently targets members of the LGBTQ+ community. It was created by activist Chaya Raichik, a former Brooklyn real estate agent.

The account’s posts often go viral. Some have been linked to bomb threats, policy and funding changes and accounts of death threats and online harassment. A teacher in Texas resigned earlier this month after the account posted a video him wearing a pink dress at school. According to the Associated Press, the account “features anti-trans posts and clips of public school teachers aimed at generating right-wing outrage.”

On Wednesday, soon after the original post was shared, Dimond High School principal Tina Johnson-Harris sent a message to families that addressed “a situation involving a member of our Dimond High School staff.”

“Unfortunately, this employee is the subject of focus on social media and other media platforms. We have reviewed the relevant information and found that the communications are malicious and harassing in nature, and were taken out of context,” Johnson-Harris said.

A day later, Johnson-Harris sent an update sharing that the staff member, whom the school district hasn’t named, had been put on administrative leave “pending the outcome of our investigation.”

“We understand you have many questions. However, because this is a personnel matter, we cannot provide additional information at this time,” Johnson-Harris said in the Thursday message, asking teachers and family members to reach out directly with any questions.

“Thank you for reaching out to me to voice your concerns,” she said. “We take them seriously and will continue to foster a safe and inclusive campus while ensuring a stable learning environment.”

In a post on X on Thursday, Libs of TikTok shared a screenshot of the Dimond High principal’s message that the teacher had been placed on administrative leave.