Teacher is under investigation over white nationalist podcast

CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. - A middle school teacher in Florida was accused of hosting the white nationalist podcast "Unapologetic," which discussed white nationalist ideas. 

The Citrus County School District is investigating Dayanna Volitich, after a Huffington Post reporter presented evidence that she was using Tiana Dalichov as a pseudonym to express her views about race and religion on social media.

The social media accounts linked to the podcast were deleted and Volitich's attorney released a statement saying the hobby was done during her personal time.

"The views 'Tatiana Dalichov' espouses do not pervade my professional career," the statement said. 

Citrus County School District Superintendent Sandra Himmel announced Sunday afternoon that Volitich, 25, had been removed from her classroom at Crystal River Middle School. In a Facebook post, Himmel said she found the podcast "concerning."

Lana Lokteff, a Russian-American who is a prominent voice of the Alt-Right movement, was a guest in her podcast during a discussion about "the need" for schools to teach white nationalist ideology to children. 

"How pathetic! I was interviewed by Tiana Dalichov on her podcast 'Unapologetic' and it became national news, a witch hunt," Lokteff tweeted Monday afternoon.  "Tells you how terrified & weak the left is. Our anti-globalist stance is rational, honest & just. All they have is empty words & childish commentary."

Volitich is also accused of using the Twitter account for her podcast to attack David Hogg, a survivor of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting and activist of the Never Again movement. She asked him to "stop acting like a toddler" and understand that "sometimes you don't always get what you want."

Himmel added that the district will not be discussing the investigation until it's concluded. 

Copyright 2018 by WPLG Local10.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.