On Wednesday, a crowd of American citizens estimated to exceed 100,000 gathered in Washington, DC, to peacefully assemble and listen to a speech from the President of the United States. All but a handful of the attendees dispersed peacefully. Nothing done by the people who carried the demonstration into the US Capitol takes away from the legality and propriety of attending a political rally headlined by the president.

But if you were a teacher in Jefferson County, WV, you just found out that it doesn’t matter if the voters in the county voted overwhelmingly to reelect President Trump, all it takes to put your livelihood in jeopardy is to have a fascistic school superintendent who is totally unacquainted with the US Constitution, and your job is in jeopardy.

Nearly 30 teachers in Jefferson County, West Virginia that attended the rally at the Capitol in Washington DC on Wednesday are now being threatened with termination.

A letter was sent to the teachers by the Jefferson County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Bondy Shay Gibson. In the letter, the teachers are told to report to a meeting on Tuesday, January 12, 2021 where disciplinary action, including termination, will be discussed. The teachers are encouraged to bring a representative with them. The teachers were also told to not enter any Jefferson County School’s property or attend any school activity.

According to another source, this is what the letter said:

“I was made aware that you took part in the Electoral College protest that erupted into deadly violence on January 6, 2021. I have reviewed disturbing videos and photographs posted that tagged you on a public social media page, which included threatening and demeaning statements regarding federal government officials.”

The letters went on to say, “I understand that many community members are upset by these images. Accordingly, I have determined that you are on administrative leave with pay effective immediately pending additional investigation.”

The letter went on to indicate that the employees should schedule a meeting Tuesday with Gibson and bring a representative as disciplinary action including “the termination of your employment” is possible.

You can read the whole letter here.

This threat is patently illegal. It doesn’t matter who in “the community” had their knickers knotted by images; being upset does not give you a heckler’s veto. Attending a political rally is a constitutionally protected activity. Unless Superintendent Bondy Shay Gibson has evidence that someone was involved in a criminal act, she is clearly carrying out political intimidation.

The letter also shows that the schools superintendent has authorized the surveillance of social media accounts belonging to employees in order to keep tabs on their activities. There is no other way the names of people merely tagged in posts and images would have come to her attention.

Look forward to more of this as the left feels emboldened to purge from public life anyone who does not hew to their orthodoxy. If this kind of thing happens in a dark red county, life will be hell elsewhere unless we stand up.