A Florida high school teacher has been removed after video showed him berating a student who refused to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
A TikTok video of the incident had amassed more than 1.4 million views as of Saturday.
“You are gonna sit there on your butt?” the unnamed teacher at Bradenton High School angrily asked the student. “If you want to do something, just get up and do it … I will defend my country to the very end.”
The student responded, “I won’t hurt you.”
The teacher then told the student to “go back … where you are from. Mexico or Guatemala? Where?”
When the student said he was born in the United States, the teacher reacted in disbelief.
“You were born here? And you won’t stand up for the flag?”
A rep for Manatee County Schools told Insider that the teacher had been removed and an investigation was underway.
“The School District of Manatee County strongly condemns any language or behavior that degrades, humiliates or insults any individuals — most especially the young people, families and community we have the privilege of serving,” the district said in a statement.
