A Minnesota public school teacher is now under investigation after calling for the murder of newly-confirmed Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
The teacher, identified on social media as Samantha Ness, works for Intermediate School District #917’s Alliance Education Center, which “provides services to all students with unique needs,” including children with autism, cognitive disabilities, emotional behavior disorders, and more.
“So whose [sic] gonna take one for the team and kill Kavanaugh?” Ness tweeted over the weekend, but has since deleted her Facebook and Twitter. Screen grabs of her social media accounts, however, show that she started at her teaching position in April, while pictures she posted to Twitter confirmed her identity.
https://twitter.com/pahubb43/status/1049143893743296512
Additionally, the Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board confirms that Ness is a licensed teacher in the state and a graduate of Minnesota State University, Mankato.
Before deleting her Twitter account, Ness went on to write that “Kavanaugh will be dealing with death threats for the rest of his life being on the Supreme Court,” so she doubts her “mid-west ass is a real threat,” according to archives of her account.
On Monday, her employer announced that it has “received a complaint regarding an employee” who has “been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.”
“Pursuant with the data practices act, we are limited to providing additional information regarding this matter,” Superintendent Mark Zuzek wrote in a statement.
Ness’ comments came shortly after Kavanaugh passed a Senate confirmation vote, making him the ninth member of the Supreme Court. Twitter has yet to address a “Kill Kavanaugh” hashtag that began trending after his confirmation.
Democrats across the country reacted in outrage to Kavanaugh’s confirmation and vowed a “day of reckoning” for Republicans. In a fundraising email sent out after the vote, Democratic National Committee Chairman asked supporters to “make Republicans pay a price for Brett Kavanaugh.”
Meanwhile, a group of protesters broke through a police barricade at the Supreme Court while Kavanaugh was being sworn in and attempted to break in.
“Brett Kavanaugh is not my judge!” the protesters chanted, according to video from the scene.
Kavanaugh passed the Senate Saturday in a close vote of 50-48 and was sworn in shortly after.
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
