HANCEVILLE, Ala. (WIAT) — An Alabama college history instructor is on administrative leave after comments she made calling for a rally by the “you-know-what” to halt a LGBTQ pride event scheduled to be held in Cullman next month.
In a statement sent after a CBS 42 report outlined Leigh Ann Courington’s comments, Wallace State Community College said it condemns racism and bigotry in all its forms. The college had not initially responded to requests for comment.
“The recent statements made by one of our employees are offensive to everyone who values human life, equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility,” the college’s statement said. “The employee has been placed on administrative leave pending further investigation.”
Courington’s post, made on her Facebook page Monday, suggested Satan had a hand in the pride event, called Cullman Comes Out, which is set to take place Oct. 8.
“The devil is attacking our beautiful town of Cullman now apparently…and the police chief is in on it? I heard he was a crazy-ass liberal but this??? We need a rally by the you-know-what to put an end to this foolishness. Of course, it may be as well-attended as the Juneteenth event the white liberal weirdos tried to do a few years ago in Hanceville.”
The post was quickly screenshotted and shared across social media.
Courington declined an interview about her statements.
“People need to get a life,” Courington told CBS 42. “Good grief.”
The post was private, Courington argued, and not meant for public view.
“That was on my private page, and if someone doesn’t like it, they need to unfriend/block me,” she wrote.
Jennifer Lee, a former student of Courington’s, said that excuse doesn’t hold up.
“When you hold a position like that where you influence young minds, you should be very careful what you put on your social media account,” Lee said.
For his part, Gilly the “Sunshine Wizard,” who helped organize Cullman Comes Out, said he’d rather focus on the positive – looking forward to the event – than on the negative.
The concert and community event, which will be held Oct. 8 from 6 to 10 p.m. in Cullman’s Depot Park, is open to everyone, Gilly said, including Leigh Ann Courington.