PICO RIVERA, CA (KCAL/KCBS/CNN) – A high school history teacher and city council member in California is facing investigation after a student recorded an anti-military rant that went viral.
Local officials in Pico Rivera, CA, say they denounce Gregory Salcido’s alleged comments, as heard in viral videos of the El Rancho High School teacher.
In the videos, Salcido appears to disparage military recruiters and suggest people join the armed forces because they have no other skills.
"They're not, like, high level thinkers. They're not academic people. They're not intellectual people. They're the freakin’ lowest of our low,” said Salcido in one of the videos.
Mayor Gustavo Camacho says he believes the comments impact Salcido’s ability to serve as a city council member.
“I am looking at all options as through my authority and my fellow council members, but one action that I do have and I will take is I am removing him from all committees,” Camacho said.
The Jan. 19 recordings were made by high school senior Victor Quinonez after Salcido started lecturing him because he was wearing a U.S. Marines sweatshirt, according to KTLA.
Victor told KTLA Monday he recorded the videos because he was tired of hearing disparaging remarks about the military from the teacher.
The teenager’s father is a Marine veteran, and Victor wants to follow in his footsteps, KTLA reports.
The school district has launched an investigation into Salcido’s comments and says it will take appropriate action.
Some students have been critical of the teacher, including junior Alfred Argulo.
"They go, they fight the wars and battles, just so he could have those opinions, and yet he's going to degrade the Army,” Alfred said.
Others are supporting their history teacher on social media, using the hashtag “JusticeForSauce.”
“He had a good reputation here, and that just messed up his whole career,” one student said.
Salcido was at the center of another controversy in 2012 after he acknowledged he smacked a student on the back of his head for allegedly being disruptive in class.
Copyright 2018 KCAL, KCBS, Gregory Salcido via CNN. All rights reserved. Raycom News Network contributed to this report.
