CRYSTAL RIVER, FL (RNN) - A social studies teacher has been removed from the classroom amid allegations that she hosted a podcast that touted white supremacist views - comments she characterized as "satire."
Crystal River Middle School teacher Dayanna Volitich, 25, is under investigation after a report from the Huffington Post.
She was involved in a podcast "Unapologetic" in which she bragged about disseminating white supremacist ideas to schoolchildren while hiding her views from the school administration.
She used a pseudonym Tiana Dalichov and didn't mention the school by name.
Volitch also allegedly made racial and anti-Semetic remarks, including about some races being smarter than others and about how Muslims should be removed from the face of the Earth.
"The teacher has been removed from the classroom and the investigation is ongoing," Citrus County School District Superintendent Sandra “Sam” Himmel said in a statement released via Facebook. "Pursuant to Florida Statute an open investigation and materials related to it are exempt from public record and cannot be discussed until the investigation is complete."
On Monday, she admitted to hosting the podcast under the pseudonym but called the comments "political satire" done to attract listeners, NBC Miami reported.
Her statement reads:
“None of the statements released about my being a white nationalist or white supremacist have any truth to them, nor are my political beliefs injected into my teaching of social studies curriculum," Volitich said in a statement to NBC Miami. "While operating under the Russian pseudonym 'Tiana Dalichov' on social media and the 'Unapologetic Podcast,' I employed political satire and exaggeration, mainly to the end of attracting listeners and followers, and generating conversation about the content discussed between myself and my guests.
“As an adult, my decisions are my own, and my family has nothing whatsoever to do with my social media accounts or my podcast. From them, I humbly ask for forgiveness, as it was never my intention to cause them grief while engaging in a hobby on my personal time."
Crystal River is located on the Florida Gulf Coast north of Tampa.
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