Editor’s note: This story has been updated.
Update:
Superintendent Margo Empen provided Townhall with an email statement explaining the district was "made aware yesterday afternoon by parents/community members that a teacher in our district had posted a message to his personal Facebook page, outside of working hours."
When the District receives concerns about an employee, the matter is promptly investigated. Any investigation is consistent with the policies adopted by the Board, applicable State and Federal law (inclusive of the 1st Amendment rights held by public employees) and any relevant provisions of any applicable collective bargaining agreement. Where appropriate we also meet with employees to report and discuss the concerns as well as the importance of being a positive role model for our students and unbiased in the delivery of mandated curriculum. This process involves consultation with appropriate District personnel and our legal counsel. Consistent with applicable law the District does not, however, publicly comment on specific personnel matters.
Empen further stressed that the district "in no way promotes or endorses the sentiments expressed on the employee’s personal Facebook page. Such comments belong solely to the employee, who does not speak on behalf of the District."
Original:
A teacher at an Illinois high school reportedly wrote a post on Facebook in which he fantasized about President Donald Trump dying in office.
Thomas Padilla, who teaches at Dixon High School, wrote in a now-deleted post, “If you were born in 1964 or after, you have never experienced a US president dying in office. I am ready.”
In a follow-up post, he listed the years in which previous presidents died or were assassinated while serving in the White House, according to Young America’s Foundation (YAF).
Another bizarre post listed 1841, 1850, 1865, 1881, 1901, 1923, 1945, and 1963 — the years in which Presidents William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, Warren Harding, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and John F. Kennedy died or were assassinated.
NEW from @YAF: High School Teacher at Ronald Reagan's alma mater caught fantasizing about President Trump "dying in office." https://t.co/2rNRxLg1cJ
— Spencer Brown (@itsSpencerBrown) January 23, 2025
Dixon Public Schools Superintendent Margo D. Empen sent an email to a parent obtained by YAF confirming the origin of the posts. The message said the district was aware of the posts and is “addressing the situation with the teacher.”
“I can assure you we also believe this is an inappropriate comment for an educator to make,” Empen wrote.
In another post, Padilla apologized for his earlier posts, saying he was “sorry if I offended anyone with my post about presidents dying.”
This was not the first time the educator wrote a post critical of Trump.
This is not an isolated incident. Several teachers have come under scrutiny over incendiary social media posts about President Trump and Republicans during the 2024 campaign season.
A fourth grade teacher in Houston, Texas, filmed herself threatening Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents if they came into her classroom.
Fourth grade teacher in Houston,Texas is threatening ICE on her TikTok account. pic.twitter.com/XOYDcF31c0
— Sarah Fields (@SarahisCensored) January 23, 2025
A teacher in Cheshire, Connecticut, resigned from her position in November 2024, shortly after Election Day, after posting a viral video in which she appeared to threaten people who voted for Trump. “You’ll end up on a stretcher,” she said in the video, according to NBC Connecticut.
Concerned parents voiced their opinions on the video at a town council meeting. One mother said she could not “un-see it” and “can’t walk into that school…and hand my kid off to that person.”
A similar incident occurred in South Dakota shortly after the first assassination attempt against Trump. In a post on Facebook, Cassandra Oleson, a behavior facilitator at Ben Reifel Middle School, exclaimed, “Shoot if only he would’ve had his scope sighted in correctly.”
As Trump continues through his second term in office, there will likely be more stories like this.
Superintendent Empen and Thomas Padilla did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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