An English school teacher has been accused of posing a risk to children and referred to the government’s counter-terrorism program after showing videos of Donald Trump in his US politics class.
The teacher, who is in his 50s, told The Telegraph he was “likened to a terrorist” after showing the videos, including one of Mr Trump’s inauguration, to A-level students.
Henley College, a sixth form in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, with more than 2,000 students, reported the policy lecturer to the local child protection authority, which concluded that a referral to Prevent, the government’s counter-terrorism programme, was a “priority”.
Donald Trump’s inauguration was featured in one of the videos the teacher showed his class – Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The teacher was accused of causing “emotional harm” to his undergraduate students, aged 17 and 18. In a document seen by The Telegraph, local child protection officials suggested the release of the videos could amount to a “hate crime”.
The extraordinary claims prompted the teacher, who first qualified in the mid-1990s, to start a grievance procedure against the college. In a negotiated settlement, he offered him a £2,000 reward after effectively forcing him to resign from his £44,000-a-year post.
His case is the latest uncovered by The Telegraph where child protection laws have apparently been used to try to ban adults with alleged right-wing views from working with children.
The Free Speech Union believes laws meant to protect children from murderers and rapists are being misused to go after adults with old-fashioned views. It said the teacher’s case was a clear example of child protection protocols being “used to silence someone for political reasons”.
The teacher, who did not want to be identified, said: “They likened me to a terrorist. It was completely shocking. It’s dystopian, like something out of a George Orwell novel.”
Documents seen by The Telegraph show how Henley College began its investigations in January 2025 after complaints were made by two of the lecturer’s students. He was accused of “biased” and “off-topic” teaching.
The college said in an official email on January 28 that it allegedly “showed your students videos of Donald Trump, his campaign, propaganda and other videos unrelated to what is being taught.”
The college then claimed that one of the videos had “made one of the students quite uncomfortable”.
The teacher said: “It was just terrifying; just mind-blowing. We were discussing the US election, Trump had just won and I showed some videos from the Trump campaign. The next thing I was accused of bias. One of the students said they were emotionally disturbed and claimed they had nightmares.”
Asked if he was a far-right extremist, the professor, a practicing Catholic who admits to being a Republican supporter but is adamant his views are mainstream, said: “I’m not an extremist.”
He accused the college of “complete left-wing bias,” adding: “They don’t tolerate anything about Donald Trump.”
Donald Trump at his inauguration. The professor said the college “doesn’t tolerate anything about Donald Trump” – Greg Nash/Getty Images
The board referred the case to the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO), the official responsible for investigating safeguarding issues.
The LADO report, dated May 22, said the professor’s views “could be perceived as radical” and that Henley College “should complete a Prevent referral”.
He continued: “There are concerns that this behavior could cause harm to a child, there could be a criminal offense from the views which could constitute a hate crime and it is possible that promoting his views is radicalisation.”
Prevention is the government’s strategy to try to fight terrorism by intervening where concerns are raised about radicalization in schools and elsewhere.
Students claimed teaching was ‘biased and off topic’
The teacher said: “I felt completely insulted at the suggestion that I was a danger to children. It affected my mental health. I had to see a counsellor. It affected my physical health. It was absolutely horrible. It really overwhelmed me.”
He received an official letter in April saying he was charged with misconduct. His alleged offense was to have caused “emotional harm… to your students as a result of sharing inappropriate content (especially videos) with them and lacking balance when presenting political views with an emphasis on right-wing, potentially extremist views”.
The letter cited allegations from students that “your teaching is biased and off-topic to the extent that it has become a distraction from what students are supposed to be learning.”
Among the videos was a music video titled Daddy’s Home, made by Roseanne Barr, the American comedian and Trump supporter, and Tom MacDonald, a Canadian performer nicknamed the Maga Rapper. The video has had 7.8 million views on YouTube and was suggested to the teacher by one of his students.
The teacher remains baffled that the video – set against the backdrop of Maga supporters – could cause a student to become “emotionally disturbed”.
Scenes from Roseanne Barr and a Canadian rapper’s Daddy’s Home video tribute to Mr. Trump and presented by the teacher in the classroom – YouTube
YouTube
He says he is convinced he was targeted by a group of students after he took over their politics class in early September 2024. The previous year he taught business studies at the college and was praised for his work, but was switched to politics to help with staff shortages.
The professor, who now works as an adjunct professor while looking for a full-time position, has extensive family ties to the US but insists his Republican views are not extreme, pointing out that Mr Trump won the electoral college in a landslide as well as the popular vote.
He taught students classes on politics and propaganda and says he also showed them Kamala Harris videos. He showed about five Trump-related videos before the complaint was made.
In April 2025, he wrote to JD Vance, the US vice president, complaining that his was “a shocking case of the imposition of a Communist-style silencing of opinion and counter-narratives imposed by the intolerant far left”, adding: “My career is in jeopardy because of this shocking mistreatment by people who are openly one-sided and against any party of US opinion and easily any party of the United States.” disagrees or has different perspectives and opinions.” He has no idea if the letter ever reached Mr. Vance.
“Bullyed and Harassed”
He contacted the Freedom of Expression Union (FSU) for assistance in fighting the “misconduct” claim and the ongoing disciplinary investigation. Finally, he was given a written warning
The FSU, which provides legal aid to members, argued in its defense that he was a victim of “bullying and harassment” and was also accused of showing a “genocide video” to children. He pointed out that the video was part of a set of teaching materials provided by the Holocaust Education Trust.
Lord Young, head of FSU and a fellow Conservative, said: “The United States is our closest ally and Donald Trump is their democratically elected leader. Showing one of his election ads to a class of politics students, especially alongside one of Kamala Harris’s, is not a risk to children.
“There is a clear case where safeguarding protocols are being used to silence someone for political reasons.”
Henley College, which attracts students from Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, said: “Henley College does not comment on individual allegations or ongoing investigations.
“We are committed to safeguarding the welfare of all our students and staff and complying with statutory safeguarding procedures in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025.
“Allegations are treated with due care, in accordance with statutory guidance, with appropriate support provided to all involved.”