STORY UPDATED: check for updates below.
Was Irish teacher Enoch Burke arrested on September 2, 2024, for "refusing to endorse and affirm transgender ideology"? No, that's not true: Burke was arrested for contempt of court after repeatedly showing up to teach at a school where he was suspended and told not to return. His arrest by police was due to his noncompliance with a court order, not his views on transgender issues.
The claim appeared in a post and video (archived here) on X, formerly Twitter, on September 2, 2024. The video's caption said:
Teacher Enoch Burke arrested at Wilson's Hospital School in Ireland after refusing to endorse and affirm transgender ideology. For him there are only two genders: male and female. Do you agree with him?
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Tue Sep 3 15:14:18 2024 UTC)
The post provided nothing to support its implication that Burke was arrested after refusing to endorse and affirm transgender ideology.
News reports said Burke, a history and German teacher, was suspended from Wilson's Hospital School in Ireland in August 2022. This followed his public confrontation with the principal about a transitioning student during a school event.
Burke has refused to use the student's preferred pronouns and new name, arguing that it violates his religious beliefs. After his suspension, he continued to come to the school and attempt to teach, leading to a court order that barred him from the premises.
Burke's arrest in early September 2024 was his third for violating the court order to stay away from the school in County Westmeath, according to news accounts.
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At the time this was written, a related claim had previously been reviewed by The Journal in 2022.
Other Lead Stories fact checks of claims related to transgender topics can be read here.
Updates:
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2024-09-04T18:41:29Z 2024-09-04T18:41:29Z The first paragraph has been revised for clarity.
