Sandy Hook Denier Professor May Lose Job

BOCA RATON, FL – The professor who has made controversial claims that the Sandy Hook massacre was a hoax may find his days at Florida Atlantic University numbered.

The school issued a statement on Wednesday saying it had served James Tracy, an associate professor in the school of communication and multimedia studies, a notice of proposed discipline. That notice, the statement says, calls for Tracy’s termination. Tracy was given 10 days to respond before final action is taken.

The Sandy Hook massacre took place on Dec. 14, 2012. Adam Lanza, 20, walked onto the elementary school campus and killed 20 children and six adults before turning a gun on himself. Prior to his arrival at the school, Lanza also shot and killed his own mother at her Newtown, Conn., home.

Following the shooting, a conspiracy theory arose that alleges the massacre never happened. Rather, it was staged by those who wish to see gun control measures enacted in the United States. Tracy has been an outspoken advocate of the hoax theory. He has also reportedly harassed the parents of Sandy Hook’s youngest victim, 6-year-old Noah Pozner. Lenny and Veronique Pozner published a commentary on Patch last week discussing the alleged harassment they’ve faced.

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“A plethora of conspiracies arose after Sandy Hook, but none received as much mainstream publicity as Tracy, who suggested that the shooting never occurred and the Obama administration had staged the ‘event’ to prepare the country for strict gun control measures,” the Pozners wrote.

In detailing the alleged harassment, the couple said, “Tracy even sent us a certified letter demanding proof that Noah once lived, that we were his parents, and that we were the rightful owner of his photographic image. We found this so outrageous and unsettling that we filed a police report for harassment. Once Tracy realized we would not respond, he subjected us to ridicule and contempt on his blog, boasting to his readers that the ‘unfulfilled request’ was ‘noteworthy’ because we had used copyright claims to ‘thwart continued research of the Sandy Hook massacre event.’”

The Pozners also called on Florida Atlantic University to live up to its “civic responsibility to ensure that it does not contribute to the ongoing persecution of countless Americans who’ve lost their loves ones to high-profile acts of violence.”

While the Pozners’ plea appears to have prompted action, Tracy intends to fight the termination, the New York Daily News reported.

“I think what this really involves is a matter of free speech,” the paper quoted him as saying. “All I’ve done is to delve into the Sandy Hook event. I think the work I’ve done stands up.”