University Fires Prof Who Called Sandy Hook a Hoax

A Florida Atlantic University professor who believes the government staged the Sandy Hook school massacre to bring in gun control will soon be free to pursue conspiracy theories full time. Communications professor James Tracy, who has been at the university since 2002, was officially fired on Monday, though the letter he received didn't mention the theories about Sandy Hook and other events found on his personal blog, the University Press reports. Instead, the professor was told he was being fired for his failure to submit a "Report of Outside Employment or Professional Activity Form" listing his activities, including his blog and writing that he does elsewhere. His last day will be Friday, the university says.

The university decided to take action after Tracy clashed with the parents of 6-year-old Sandy Hook victim Noah Pozner, calling them "alleged parents" and suggesting they forged the boy's death certificate. The professor was tenured, and the Sun-Sentinel reports that he appears to be fighting to keep his job through legal action from United Faculty of Florida, a union whose FAU chapter he was once in charge of. "There's a lot of stuff people aren't aware of that I can't speak to right now," union chief Robert Zoeller tells the Sun-Sentinel. "If I did, it would violate Dr. Tracy's rights." (Sandy Hook "truthers" targeted a victim's mother who wrote a book about healing and recovery.)