Florida university taking steps to fire professor who thinks Sandy Hook was a hoax

Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton is in the process of firing a tenured professor who runs a "truther" blog and has been accused of harassing the family of a 6-year-old killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School three years ago.

James Tracy is a tenured professor in the School of Communications and Multimedia Studies, and received a letter Wednesday from the university saying his termination was recommended, the Palm Beach Post reports. He has 10 days to appeal. Tracy has a private blog called MemoryHole, where he has written extensively about events he says never happened, including the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the shooting in San Bernardino earlier this month, and the Boston Marathon bombing. Tracy believes that the Boston bombing was a "mass-casualty drill" with "play actors," the Post says.

Florida Atlantic University has released at least two statements saying it does not agree with Tracy's theories, and admonished him for not making it clear that his blog is not affiliated with his position at the school. Last week, the parents of Sandy Hook victim Noah Pozner, Lenny and Veronique Pozner, wrote in a Sun Sentinel editorial that Tracy sent them a letter asking for proof that their son existed. "We found this so outrageous and unsettling that we filed a police report for harassment," they wrote. Tracy has yet to comment.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up