A Huntsville animal shelter has reported death threats to the FBI after a social media account posted a video from the shelter showing a local middle school teacher reading in drag to dogs.

Libs of TikTok monitors social media for perceived evidence that sexual orientation and gender identity are being taught to children, and subsequently shares those videos to their followers as evidence of “grooming.”

Hard Knocks Rescue and Training regularly holds a ‘Drag Queen Story Hour.’ A video shows James Miller, a teacher at Mountain Gap Middle School, reading “Walter the Farting Dog,” a children’s book about a pet whose owner wants to return him because of his gas.

Libs of TikTok alleged that in the video, Miller, who was dressed as drag queen Majesty Divine, “made a series of lewd sexual innuendos and jokes” including the comment that “everyone likes a big bone,” which Miller made after reading the following from the story:

“The dog was Walter. Digging happily in the sand you never know where an old bone might be hiding. He detected something under the sand and dug more frantically. A treasure? A bone? And it’s a big one.”

No children are visible in the video. Nor has the account alleged that Miller has done anything inappropriate in his role as a teacher.

The directors of Hard Knocks Rescue and Training said in a Facebook post that after their video was shared by Libs of TikTok, the nonprofit received negative reviews on Google and social media as well as death threats, which they’ve reported to the FBI and local police.

One email the rescue shared on Facebook had the subject line “burn in hell,” with the emailer writing that they hope “the next workplace shooting occurs at your organization…maybe then our children will be safe from predators like you.”

The shelter’s directors say they will not back down on what they do and will continue to focus on their rescue and training work while supporting the LGBTQ community, including by helping to find teens housing who have been kicked out of their homes.

“Our mission is to focus on the outcast dogs, the underdogs, the ones that no one wants to work with,” said Lisa Maasen, CEO of the rescue. “It takes an outcast to know an outcast and so the people we gravitate to and pull into our circle are those people that have always kind of felt pushed out.”

Maasen added that her personal experience growing up with a gay father and not being allowed to talk about that because of the stigma has led her to believe in the importance of having family activities like drag queen story hour where everyone is accepted and acknowledged.

“It would have been life changing for me,” she said.

The principal of Mountain Gap Middle School, where Miller teaches, sent a letter to the community today stating officials will conduct “a thorough review of the situation” although the reading did not occur on school property or during school hours, and added “we want to reassure you this does not reflect our views as a school community.”

“This was not a school-related event, it did not take place on school property, it did not occur during school hours, and it has no connection to any instruction that occurs in our classrooms,” she wrote.

AL.com obtained the letter from reporter Matt Kroschel with WAAY 31 Huntsville after the school did not respond to a request for the letter.

“I became a teacher in order to be that encouraging adult figure that I needed as a child,” Miller told WAAY 31. “I advocate for all my students, LGBTQ+ or not.”