Florida Atlantic University Officially Fires Professor Who Calls Sandy Hook Massacre a Hoax

Florida Atlantic University Officially Fires Professor Who Calls Sandy Hook Massacre a Hoax
James Tracy, left; and Veronique Pozner, the mother of Noah Pozner, who was killed at Sandy Hook. (Florida Atlantic University; AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Zachary Stieber
1/6/2016
Updated:
1/6/2016

Florida Atlantic University has officially fired professor James Tracy for questioning whether the Sandy Hook massacre was real.

Tracy has posted numerous writings on his blog since the Dec. 14, 2012, massacre stating the reasons he believes the incident was actually an elaborate hoax. 

But his writings began to be examined by the university after the parents of one of the children killed at Sandy Hook wrote an op-ed revealing that Tracy has asked them for proof that their child existed. 

“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,” Veronique and Lenny Pozner wrote.

This Nov. 13, 2012 photo provided by the family via The Washington Post shows Noah Pozner. The six-year-old was one of the victims in the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/Family Photo)
This Nov. 13, 2012 photo provided by the family via The Washington Post shows Noah Pozner. The six-year-old was one of the victims in the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14, 2012. (AP Photo/Family Photo)

Daiane Alperin, vice provost of the university, said in a letter to Tracy obtained by the Washington Post that Tracy has “engaged in continued misconduct” with his writings.

Alperin noted the university had warned Tracy to stop several times over the past months but he has not, nor did he respond to the proposed termination laid out on Dec. 16, 2015. So he has been officially fired.

Tracy will reportedly repeal the termination.